Prime Minister looking to ensure 'adequate transparency' around expenses
The Canadian Prime Minister is currently dealing with an issue faced by HR professionals managing executive perks, post-employment benefits and public accountability.
Mark Carney is reviewing a federal allowance that lets former governors general bill taxpayers for six-figure expenses, according to a recent report.
That came after, in the 2024–25 fiscal year, the federal government reimbursed $554,000 including taxes to support five former governors general, the Prime Minister’s office told CBC. The payments are made on top of their pensions and other retirement benefits.
Created in 1979, the program allows each former governor general to claim up to $206,040 annually for expenses linked to duties that flow from their time at Rideau Hall. The support continues for life and for up to six months after death, effectively making it a long-term, open-ended entitlement.
Secrecy over who claimed what
The Governor General’s office has refused to say which former office-holders received reimbursements or how the money was spent, telling CBC News only that there are five living former governors general who remain eligible to use the program.
Under current reporting rules, names appear in the federal public accounts only if a former governor general bills more than $100,000 in a year, and even then there is no breakdown of individual expenses. That means Canadians see only partial information on how public money is used, despite the size of the potential claims.
Rideau Hall says claims must be supported by original invoices and receipts and that expenses must be tied to activities arising from the person’s time in office, but those documents are not made public, according to the report.
Transparency ‘has not been updated’
Asked by CBC News whether he would support more detailed public reporting, Carney said he was not familiar with the program’s specifics but promised to review it.
“I’ll look into it, ensure that… there’s adequate transparency around the expenses,” he said at a news conference announcing former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour as the next governor general, according to the CBC report.
Carney also defended the role of former viceregals, saying “the governor generals have served our country with distinction” and that ex-office-holders “continue to serve Canadians through their charitable and other foundation activities, for which I’m personally grateful, and I think all Canadians are as well.”
The program has been under scrutiny before. In 2019, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau ordered an independent review after transparency concerns and questions about the program’s value, noted CBC. Former senior bureaucrat Alain Séguin was appointed to lead the exercise.
Recommendations
Séguin’s report warned that the program “has not been updated to reflect current public sector practices and public expectations concerning reporting and accountability,” according to the CBC report. He also concluded that the federal government’s public reporting policy was “ill-suited for providing details and clarity” on the allowance.
The review recommended that the Governor General’s office publish on its website which former governors general submit claims and what they are for, similar to the way members of Parliament’s travel expenses are posted online. It also suggested considering whether the support should end after a fixed number of years rather than remaining open-ended.
Public concern around the allowance intensified in 2018 when the National Post reported that former governor general Adrienne Clarkson had billed more than $1.1 million in expenses since leaving office 13 years earlier. The entitlement later drew further attention when Julie Payette resigned following an independent review into allegations she presided over a toxic workplace; the Governor General’s office has not said whether she has used the program since stepping down.
In May 2025, the CBC announced it will no longer issue individual performance-based bonuses to its employees, the employer announced, according to a report. The development came as the CBC faced criticism over executive compensation in the previous years.
