Federal politicians accepted sponsored travel in 2023 at a rate not seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as 71 MPs disclosed trips worth more than $850,000 in total, according the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's registry for sponsored travel. Almost two-fifths of that expenditure came from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs , which paid for 21 MPs to participate in delegations to Israel last year.
The declarations by Housefather and Rempel Garner stated that the UJA-sponsored travel included “showing solidarity with Israelis,” visiting the sites of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, and meeting government officials and Canadian ambassador Lisa Stadelbauer. Foreign government-funded travel continues Taiwanese envoy Harry Ho-jen Tseng. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada sponsored the travel of 18 MPs to the country in 2023.