Still attempting to justify a costly visit to three northern European countries six months ago, Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson has accused critics of the trip of "deliberately or inadvertently" misrepresenting the nature of the junket. Lashing out at those who accused her of overspending during the three-week trip, Clarkson told an invitation-only gathering of Nordic groups at Rideau Hall that "it is unfortunate that people deliberately or inadvertently misrepresented what the circumpolar trip was." "We don't just wake up one morning and on a whim decide to go somewhere and say to the government 'give us the money'," she said this week. The visit to Russia, Finland and Iceland in September-October 2003 by Clarkson and an entourage of some 59 "prominent" Canadians was originally estimated to cost about $1 million, but ultimately cost taxpayers $5.3 million. The trip was made at the request of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Clarkson said. The ministry handles all of the governor general's travel outside Canada, while domestic travel is arranged by her own staff. Clarkson's husband, John Ralston Saul, told the Rideau Hall gathering that the visit to the northern nations was merely following a pattern established by the foreign affairs department back in 1998 when Romeo LeBlanc was in office. While previous state visits consisted primarily of official duties such as wreath-laying ceremonies and formal dinners, he said more recent excursions brought together business people, artists and political figures who held roundtable discussions with their counterparts in the other nations. Clarkson said last fall's trip was necessary to reassert Canada's role as an important player among Arctic circle countries. Too often, Canadians ignore the reality of their northern heritage, she said, focusing instead on their relations with the United States. "I am wondering if there is some attempt here to mitigate the negative impressions left by the circumpolar party, but I can't see a benefit to it," Winnipeg New Democrat Pat Martin told CanWest News Service. "We're talking about networking with other Canadians. We're not even talking about any kind of outreach. It kind of tells me that she still doesn't get it. "She doesn't get what Canadians found frivolous or excessive," said Martin, a member of the House of Commons public accounts committee that looked into the cost of the governor general. "This is not a blanket condemnation of the governor general's activities. What we balked at was the scope and the scale of the entourage."
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