Michaëlle Jean Spent $553,756 on State Jets for Vacations

The former governor general said she was forced to use the planes because of security concerns.

Former governor general Michaëlle Jean has faced heavy criticism in the last week after La Presse reported that plane trips for her personal vacations cost Canadians half a million dollars. While she was in office, the infamous raw seal meat advocate took eight trips on government jets with her family. But in a new interview, Jean explained this was RCMP protocol rather than her own decision. As commander-in-chief of the Canadian Forces, who were in Afghanistan while she was in office, Canadian security officials felt she would be a prime target for terrorists. Though Jean paid for the vacations herself, security protocol required that she use government jets only for transportation. Jean also said security told her that taking commercial flights could jeopardize the safety of other passengers (who, in fairness, would probably have had no idea who she was.)