Trudeau flying in and out of Bermuda Wednesday to deliver eulogy for Peter Green

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be flying to Bermuda on Wednesday to deliver a eulogy at the funeral of Peter Green, a close family friend.

The Trudeau family has had a long-standing friendship with the Green family since the 1970s. Pierre Trudeau, the Prime Minister's father, was the godfather to Peter Green’s son, Alexander, who also gave a reading at Pierre Trudeau’s funeral in Montreal. Pierre Trudeau had previously spoken at the funeral of Peter Green’s wife in Edmonton in 1990, following her death from cancer at the age of 38.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed that the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner was consulted before this trip to ensure compliance with all regulations. The PMO also stated that it will reimburse the government for the equivalent of a commercial airline ticket for the personal travel of the prime minister and his family, as per usual practice. Due to security reasons, the prime minister is required to travel on a government plane.

In December 2023, the Trudeau family stayed at the Prospect Estate resort near Ocho Rios in Jamaica, which was owned by Peter Green. The estate is well-known among the world’s wealthiest and most powerful families, with past guests including Winston Churchill, Henry Kissinger, and Prince Philip, some of whom planted trees in remembrance of their visits. Pierre Trudeau had stayed at the estate in 1975 during an official visit to Jamaica.

Initially, the PMO stated that Justin Trudeau paid for the family's accommodations during their Christmas trip, estimated to be worth up to $84,000. However, the office later clarified that the family stayed at Green’s resort free of charge.

Ethics commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein explained to a parliamentary committee that the rules governing gifts and travel for MPs allow exceptions for gifts or travel from friends or family. "What we have here is clearly a generous gift between people who are friends and I don’t see why, just because they are well-off, they can’t exchange gifts," he remarked regarding the trip.

While the accommodations were a gift, the overall cost of the Trudeau family’s 10-day vacation to Jamaica amounted to $230,442, with the largest expense being $162,051 for the RCMP officers who accompanied them. Additional costs were incurred when the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) plane carrying the family experienced mechanical issues, necessitating the dispatch of a second plane to resolve the issue, costing $20,835 of the total $57,553 incurred by the military. An additional $10,838 was spent on a Privy Council Office (PCO) employee ensuring secure communications for the prime minister.

In 2021, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation established the Mary-Jean Mitchell Green Scholarship, made possible by a donation from the Green family in memory of their mother. The scholarship funds doctoral research, offering up to $180,000 over three years to cover tuition, research, and travel expenses.