From: abc@a123.ca   
      
   Harper mulls policy change after top general's travel costs go public   
      
    SEPTEMBER 16, 2011   
      
   General Walt Natynczyk's travel expenses have Prime Minister Stephen   
   Harper mulling a change to government travel policy.   
      
   OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday he will explore   
   expanding his own policy of repaying some of the costs of using a   
   government jet for personal trips in response to revelations the chief of   
   defence staff has spent over $1 million on travel since 2008.   
      
   Harper's spokesman, Andrew MacDougall, said the prime minister wasn't   
   passing judgment on Gen. Walter Natynczyk's travel expenses — revealed in   
   a CTV report on Thursday — but he was expressing his desire to expand his   
   policy on repaying taxpayers for expenses incurred through travel.   
      
   "Whenever I travel or when many of our ministers travel on a government   
   aircraft for personal usage, we reimburse the treasury the commercial   
   costs of that," Harper said. "That is something we believe . . . that   
   should be done throughout government, so we'll be looking into that."   
      
   Harper said the RCMP gives him no choice but to travel on the   
   government-owned jet for security reasons.   
      
   Thursday's report said that Natynczyk's travel costs included trips to   
   the Calgary Stampede, the Grey Cup and several other sporting events at a   
   price tag of over $700,000.   
      
   A statement released by Natynczyk's office said that the general attends   
   sporting events and official ceremonies — such as military appreciation   
   nights — as the representative of the Canadian Forces.   
      
   "Wherever possible, such ceremonial commitments are co-ordinated with   
   other business travel commitments or the CDS immediately returns to his   
   Headquarters in Ottawa — commercial travel often doesn't provide the   
   flexibility needed," the statement says. "When attending official   
   functions, (Natynczyk) also makes every effort to include visits with his   
   troops, with the ill and injured, and with the families of the fallen."   
      
   The chief of defence staff also took a flight to Saint Maarten — an   
   island east of Puerto Rico — when he was forced to cancel his travel   
   plans after attending a repatriation ceremony following the death of four   
   soldiers and a journalist in January 2010.   
      
   Natynczyk's office explained the decision to grant the general the use of   
   the VIP jet in its statement.   
      
   "Having missed his charter flight, the (chief of defence staff) was   
   authorized to use a Challenger aircraft to join his family, who were   
   already sailing aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean," the statement   
   said. "This was not deemed to be a personal trip as the vacation delay   
   was service-related."   
      
   Lt. Col. Norbert Cyr, Natynczyk's spokesman, said the general did not ask   
   to use the jet; rather, the offer was extended to him. Cyr could not   
   comment further on who extended and authorized the offer to use the   
   aircraft for the trip.   
      
   According to Cyr, there was no other option for Natynczyk to meet up with   
   his family on the cruise, already underway. Natynczyk had just spent his   
   third Christmas in a row away from his family because he was touring   
   Afghanistan, Cyr said.   
      
   "The chief of defence staff makes every effort to use commercial aircraft   
   whenever possible. When the schedule permits and circumstances permit."   
      
   Cyr said that because Natynczyk commands the entire armed forces, the   
   general must often have access to secure communication — something that   
   is not possible on commercial aircraft — so there is no lapse in   
   leadership when he is in the air.   
      
   Cyr said the cost to operate the Challenger aircraft amounts to $2,360   
   per hour of flying time. The total cost per hour — according to a defence   
   department document — is $10,806 for 2011/2012. The higher number   
   includes salaries for crew, the costs of lighting and heating hangars as   
   well as administrative and long-term maintenance costs, Cyr said.   
      
   The spokesman said that costs such as crew salaries are paid whether or   
   not the plane is in the air.   
      
   Natynczyk also travels with a large staff and occasionally is joined by   
   security personnel, further complicating commercial travel.   
      
   The prime minister came under fire following a trip with his daughter to   
   a Stanley Cup final game in Boston this year. Harper said he pays the   
   treasury the equivalent of a commercial flight fare whenever he uses the   
   Challenger jet for personal or private trips.   
      
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