Jack Laytons funeral cost taxpayers over 368K

[transplant99]

Yikes.

— $133,211 for "exposition and related services";
— $62,603 for land and building rentals;
— $54,208 for conference and hospitality;
— $35,613 for business services;
— $12,963 for travel;
— $41,297 for "other services";
— $10,468 for printing services.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stor...ral-costs.html

[WilsonFourTwo]

Where's my ten foot pole.....?

[Senator Clay Davis]

Sounds like about a month worth of Bev Oda related expenses. Besides, not sure how anyone can complain, this was approved by Harper.

[SeeBass]

I am no fan of the NDP or Layton, but yeah ok, so that is what it costs for a funeral of the opposition party.

Would a price tag of $20K seem ok, cause if I heard that number I would of thought "geez we are a cheap country".

I dont mean to bag on the OP but what would you guess a service for a person of this stature should cost?

[ken0042]

Yeah, when I heard the news and they started off with the "staggering costs"- I was thinking $1M was reasonable, and $2M would be the most I would accept.

Then they also mentioned how odd it was that he had a state funeral, as they is usually reservered for (and they listed several groups.) One of the groups was "currently sitting MPs. Wasn't he also a sitting MP? Never mind the leader of a federal party.

[Regular_John]

Money well spent and a completely appropriate handeling of his passing. His passing was a unifying event for the country and a state funeral was a fair measure at the time.

Would you rather the money had gone to CBC for another episode of Battle of the Blades?

[Boblobla]

Anything in the six figures for a funeral like that is not "Staggering", I would use the term "appropriate"...

[Cole436]

How much would you think a state funeral would cost? I don't see an issue with this.

[mykalberta]

The only thing I have a problem with that is the cost of "travel"

If you arent willing to pay for your own travel expenses to pay respects to someone then you obviously didnt respect the person enough to begin with.

[FlamesAddiction]

I think a significant number of tax paying citizens caused a demand for it, so no big deal. When you look at the amount of tax payer money used for the Olympics, it's small change.

[GGG]

Seems very reasonable, Far cheaper than any royal visit. And was leader of the oppisition at the time of his death so deserved a state funeral. Compare it to the cost of Tredeau's funeral and we will have gotten a bargain.

Not sure why this is news other than to say the government spent a reasonable amount of money on what was a significant event to many canadians.

[MarchHare]

IIRC, wasn't it Harper's decision to grant Layton a state funeral? Also, didn't many of the CPC supporters here claim what a "classy move" it was at the time?

I'm no Layton/NDP fan, but how much did you think it would cost to put on a state funeral? What would a reasonable expense have been?

Strange thread.

[Thor]

I'd assume that tiny amount for travel is for family, and thats a given you pay for them if you are having a state funeral.

Jeesh people, nitpick actual government waste, not a bloody funeral for a long standing political leader/icon. Even if like me you couldn't stand the guy.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

I am no fan of the NDP or Layton, but yeah ok, so that is what it costs for a funeral of the opposition party.

Would a price tag of $20K seem ok, cause if I heard that number I would of thought "geez we are a cheap country".

I dont mean to bag on the OP but what would you guess a service for a person of this stature should cost?

I would of thought such treatment was reserved for people who actually were PM or as mentioned in the story GG or some other such titles.

If this is SOP for former or current party leaders, then there is no problem i suppose, but im still not sure anyone other than former heads of state etc really should garner such treatment and expense.

Has this happened before or is this unprecedented? Seems extremely over the top expense wise either way imo...i mean its a funeral, not some huge dinner or celebration.

If Mulclair or Rae were to suddenly meet their demise tomorrow, would it be ok to spend over 1/3rd of a million bucks on their farewell too? What about past leaders like Manning or Broadbent or Campbell?

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

IIRC, wasn't it Harper's decision to grant Layton a state funeral? Also, didn't many of the CPC supporters here claim what a "classy move" it was at the time?

I'm no Layton/NDP fan, but how much did you think it would cost to put on a state funeral? What would a reasonable expense have been?

Strange thread.

Its a lead story on CBC.

[SeeBass]

$300,000 that is nothing Champion would think that is a cheap wedding.

Probably didn't even have an open bar after.

[Bigtime]

Yeah this doesn't bother me at all, and I never liked Layton and the NDP.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Its the lead story on CBC.

It is ironic that a company that is doing everything in its power to fight every attempt to prevent anyone from knowing what it costs taxpayers is running a story on what a state funeral cost taxpayers.

To which, my response is "meh". I always thought Layton was a clown, albeit an affiable one. But he was the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. That warrants a state funeral, and the costs, as such, aren't significant.

[pepper24]

Seems reasonable to me for the official leader of the opposition.

[longsuffering]

Waiting for Rerun to find this thread.