Conservatives call for inquiry into ‘appalling' government spending on Canadian ISIS women
A letter signed by Tory MPs on Friday asked the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to convene immediately to deal with the matter.
The move came after Global News reported that declassified documents showed Ottawa spent at least $170,000 on the women and their children.
The money paid for costs incurred when eight women who had travelled to Syria to join the Islamic State returned to Canada with their kids in 2022 and 2023.
Expense reports released under the Access to Information Act showed business class flights, stays at a Marriott hotel, room service, junk food and alcohol.
Among the expenses, which were for both the families and government staff, was a $95 wine tab, $24 sandwiches and purchases of chips, chocolate bars and Timbits, as well as a $2,800 catering fee for a banquet.
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'The fact that these items were purchased for those detained as alleged terrorists is appalling in itself,' the MPs wrote in a letter addressed to committee chair Jean-Yves Duclos.
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'With Canadians lining up in food banks in record numbers and struggling with housing costs, the Liberal government must answer for why they spent $170,000 on lavish costs to repatriate reported ISIS criminals.'
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Expense reports released under Access to Information Act on costs of repatriating Canadian ISIS women and their kids. Global News
The letter, obtained by Global News, said the opposition was 'calling for the committee to be immediately recalled to launch a full inquiry into this matter.'
Under parliamentary rules, if four members of a committee, representing at least two political parties, request a meeting, the clerk must do so within five days.
The Bloc representatives of the committee would have to sign on before it would prompt a meeting.
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Global News requested details on the costs of the repatriations under the Access to Information Act two years ago. The department did not release any materials until Aug. 7, 2025.
Even then, they do not cover the full costs associated with the repatriation. Global Affairs Canada said it was still consulting with a foreign government about releasing those.
The women were living in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec when they travelled to Syria and Iraq to live under ISIS rule.
All were eventually captured when ISIS fell to U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters and an international coalition that included the Canadian Forces.
The federal government agreed to bring the women and children back to Canada after their families launched a case in the Federal Court demanding their return.
In a statement to Global News, Global Affairs declined to answer questions about its expenses or disclose the full costs associated with repatriating the Canadians.
'While we cannot comment on specific expenditures related to the operation, Global Affairs Canada assumed certain immediate costs to support the safe return and well-being of the women and children repatriated to Canada,' it said.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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Toronto Sun
3 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
WARMINGTON: Canadian flag removal for Pride flag at Carney's office raises questions
Either way Intersex-Inclusive Pride Flag now flies on one side of Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa while the maple leaf flag flies on the other Get the latest from Joe Warmington straight to your inbox Posted to social media by Dacey Media, this image shows workers taking down a Canadian flag and putting up the Pride flag at the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa. The Canadian flag being removed from the front entrance of the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa and replaced with the intersex-inclusive Pride flag raised eyebrows of people walking by Friday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account As captured in video by Dacey Media, you can hear some expressing displeasure as crews on top of a small construction lift on the back of a truck, took down the Maple Leaf on a small flagpole and replaced it with the multi-coloured flag. Until then, there had been a Canadian flag on each side of the front door of the most powerful office in the land, on Wellington St., across the Parliament Hill. Today, there is a Canadian flag on the left side and the Pride flag on the right. 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Some say what it is but has not been confirmed. Can @MarkJCarney explain why this new flag is at door of PMO instead of maple leaf? — Joe Warmington (@joe_warmington) August 17, 2025 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The appropriate position of honour is to ensure the Maple Leaf is always to the left of the flag its sharing the stage with. While the site does mention the Union Jack, the King's flag and also NATO, Commonwealth and United Nations flags, it does not mention Pride or any other private organization. But this is not the first time a Pride flag has been given prominence at a Canadian government office or shared the space. For example, as the Toronto Sun reported in June, at Canada's embassy in Hong Kong, it was noticed a Pride-Maple Leaf hybrid flag was displayed in the front lobby along with the Canadian flag – along with a government social media posting a picture of the altered flag. 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Vancouver Sun
4 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Waning cross-border travel hurting Canada's already beleaguered duty-free industry
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The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'It was very difficult. The business had many good years. I certainly didn't want to be in the position of calling an end to a business career, giving up, calling it quits, both personally and in terms of my late father,' Slipp said. At the store's peak in the early 2000s, Slipp said there were about 15 people on staff. In March 2020, he said he laid off four people and reopened after the pandemic with two employees. Late in the summer of 2021, Slipp said duty-free stores were 'all starting from zero to rebuild again.' By the end of 2024, his business was still down about one-fifth from where it was in 2019. Then Trump returned to the White House. From January to April this year, things got worse for Slipp's store, and he ultimately decided to close based on declining sales and traffic numbers. 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Edmonton Journal
4 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Lawyer insists foreign adversary is behind Canadian diplomats' Havana Syndrome
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