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John Baird received free accommodation at official residence while vacationing in London

Andy Radia
·Politics Reporter

I'm having trouble getting angry about this story regarding Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and his trip to London.

CTV News is reporting that Baird and six of his buddies stayed at the Canadian High Commission — official residence of former B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell — free of charge while vacationing in the U.K. last Christmas.

High Commissioner Gordon Campbell, the former premier of B.C., confirmed that Baird stayed at Campbell’s personal quarters where he pays rent, while he was out of the country.

“I invited him to use the apartment," Campbell told CTV News. "I wasn't going to be there and the staff was not there. He used it as my friends would use it.”

As the foreign affairs minister, Baird is Campbell’s boss.

Macdonald House — owned by the federal government — sits in central London and is often used by the prime minister or governor general for official events.

Baird's office claims that Baird and Campbell are personal friends and that no taxpayer money was used.

"Mr. Baird paid his own way. His own taxis. His own drinks," noted a statement from Baird's office to CTV.

The Foreign Affairs Minister also stayed at the New York City residence of the Canadian Consul General in 2011.

[ Related: B.C. Premier Christy Clark reverses decision to give senior staff big raises ]

I understand the public's annoyance: Any of us who have been to London know that it's a very expensive city — just ask Bev Oda. And, Baird was given a benefit that other Canadians aren't necessarily entitled to — unless they're buddies with Gordon Campbell.

But this cost taxpayers nothing.

So, why the outrage by opposition parties and on Twitter?

Canadian Taxpayers Federation Executive Director Gregory Thomas says that this story is much ado about nothing.

"This situation is analogous to Mark Carney vacationing at the home of Scott Brison when Carney was Governor of the Bank of Canada and Brison was federal Liberal finance critic. Both men were off the clock, they were on vacation. They're adults. They were obeying the law. People may have opinions about who they choose for friends, but it's really nobody's business how they spend their vacations," Thomas told Yahoo! Canada News.

"Gordon Campbell has a home. He pays for it. His house guests are his business. This isn't the first time we've heard about Canadians going to London and visiting Gordon Campbell. They're generally people that Gordon Campell likes. You're probably not going to read about Bill Vander Zalm staying there on his next trip to London.

"Bottom line is that people like Mark Carney and John Baird get invited to stay at some pretty nice places when they're on vacation. Unless they're being hosted by a mob boss or a big government construction contractor, it's nobody's business."

[ Related: Tory MP Eve Adams gets ticketed for talking on cell phone while driving on Parliament Hill ]

I have to agree with Thomas.

Holding the government's feet to the fire doesn't mean complaining about everything they do.

I'll give this one a pass.

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

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