Justin Trudeau slammed for taking a two-week family vacation to Costa Rica

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on a family vacation and Canadians have a lot to say about it.

In an email statement to Daily Hive, the prime minister’s office (PMO) confirmed that Trudeau and his family are on holiday for the first two weeks of August in Costa Rica.

It’s the same destination where the family spent their 2019 Christmas holiday.

“The prime minister will of course be regularly briefed during this time, as always,” the PMO stated.

Many Canadians were quick to accuse the prime minister of using tax payer’s dollars to fund his holidays.

“I don’t care that Trudeau is taking a vacation, I really don’t,” one person tweeted. “What I do care about, is the fact that his vacations are funded by Canadians.”

“He’ll spend tens of thousands of OUR money on this vacation. SICKENING!!” tweeted another person.

However, the PMO clarified that the family will be using money out of their own pocket to pay for the stay and that they consulted the Ethics Commissioner’s office on the matter.

The prime minister seems to have kicked off the week with a lot of criticism.

On the heels of his trip, online flight trackers revealed that Trudeau spent all but 11 days of July in the air, which released nearly 120 tons of carbon dioxide into the environment.

The family’s last flight on a Royal Canadian Air Force plane to and from Costa Rica cost the government about $57,000, with thousands more spent on the flight crews’ stay in San Jose, reported The Canadian Press. 

Many Canadians have also come to the prime minister’s defence.

“This may come as a shock to certain people but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also allowed to have a vacation,” tweeted one person. “I find this manufactured outrage beyond ridiculous… it’s literally just two weeks.”

Others criticized the media for highlighting the wrong stories, referencing the Ontario government’s inaction during the continuing pandemic.

“Entire Ontario government has been missing in action since the beginning of June. Crickets,” tweeted one person.

“But Trudeau taking a two-week family vacation generates as much noise in the media as the time he took a half day off on a Saturday that was a designated federal holiday.”

“Not a single one talking about Ontario’s cottaging premier and missing minister of health while our health care system collapses,” tweeted another.

This isn’t the first time the prime minister has been in hot water for a family trip.

In 2017, Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act after he and his family vacationed on the Aga Khan’s private island.