Senator Batters: Minister Oda also repaid her infamous $16 orange juice bill. I am curious, Senator Gold: Was a complimentary breakfast included in that $7,300-per-night price tag for Prime Minister Trudeau’s luxury River Suite? If not, how much are Canadian taxpayers on the hook for that orange juice?

Hon. Denise Batters: Senator Gold, in 2012, former cabinet minister Bev Oda was hounded by opposition parties for a London hotel stay. Her room cost $665 per night. Fast forward, and Prime Minister Trudeau just dinged Canadian taxpayers more than 10 times that amount: $7,300 per night for his opulent 900‑square-foot suite in London.

Last week, you tried to “LaurentianSplain” this PM’s outrageous expense with, “When’s the last time you tried to rent a good hotel room in London?” Yikes. Minister Oda reimbursed her hotel costs. When will this silver spoon Prime Minister reimburse his?

Senator Plett: Not Trudeau.

Hon. Leo Housakos: It’s fantastic that the government leader is drawing on past experiences. I will remind some of the new senators who have arrived here that in the pre-Trudeau Senate there used to be Liberal senators sitting in the opposition who would check the public accounts and hold our government to account daily. There are very few left. But you remember those days. Senator Mitchell was definitely part of that crew.

Now, government leader, let me tell you something else about those good old days. When a minister would go somewhere, like London, and spend $16 on a glass of orange juice, the opposition made sure they were held to account. Do you know what happened to that minister? A few days later, she lost her job. That’s what’s called accountability, and all of us should practise some of it.

Furthermore, I would also like to point out to your earlier answer. Somebody just checked the River Suite at the hotel that you claim was “price surged” during the Queen’s funeral, and as of a few days ago, it was still $6,000 a night. So that excuse doesn’t hold water.

It is time to shine more light on government and ensure that it remains focused on the people it is meant to serve. . . .

That’s a quote, government leader. That’s a quote that I’m not sure you recognize, senator, but it is a quote taken from Justin Trudeau’s Liberal platform in 2015.

Senator Gold, do you agree with the objective of shining more light on government? If so, how would you justify your government and your own stonewalling on answering a simple question about who stayed in a suite that cost $35,000? Once we find out who it is, explain to us why? There might be a legitimate explanation. I’d love to hear it. $35,000 for six nights. Who stayed in that suite and why? It’s a simple question, and it’s in the public accounts. Taxpayers need to know.

Senator Housakos: Senator Gold, it would be bad enough if this were a one-time lapse in judgment on the part of this Prime Minister, but it’s not. It’s a pattern. In the past seven years, Justin Trudeau has broken the law with his vacation on “billionaire islands,” has jetted back and forth across the country on the taxpayer dime to go surfing, bungee jumping and to hang out with celebrities. Now, the cherry on top: he stayed in a $7,000‑a‑night luxury suite with a private butler so he could ham it up at the piano bar with Gregory Charles, all on the taxpayers’ dime. Of course, at a funeral mourning the Queen.

Senator Gold, you don’t think that’s a question worth answering on behalf of the people who footed the bill? At the end of the day, you’re the government leader and a member of the Privy Council. But you are also our representative in this chamber. You sit on Privy Council for a reason: in order to provide us accountable answers to questions.

Quite frankly, it’s just not appropriate for weeks and days to not be able to answer on behalf of your role to this chamber and through this chamber to the taxpayers: Who stayed in that room? It’s not a complicated question.