Conservatives on the Riviera — maybe not so much

This sounds like a good story:

NDP Official Languages critic Yvon Godin (Acadie-Bathurst) demanded the Harper Conservatives tell hard-working Canadians just how much the federal government is paying to send three Conservative cabinet ministers to the French Riviera to learn French.

“To ask average Canadians to foot the bill for three Conservative cabinet ministers to go to the French Riviera to learn our official language is an insult and elitist,” said Godin. “There are excellent French schools right across Canada where you can immerse yourself and gain valuable language skills, but apparently classes offered in our country aren’t good enough for Harper’s Conservatives.”

This summer, Conservative cabinet ministers Rona Ambrose, Jason Kenney and Bev Oda attended the Institut de Français, (view from the school, above) located between Nice and Monaco on the French Riviera, for a month-long language training session.

But aides for both Minister Kenney and Minister Oda said neither were in France over the summer. (Kenney is already fluently bilingual, incidentally, although many often take the chance to hone their French over the summer).

Minister Ambrose was indeed in France on a personal holiday for which she paid. Her spokesman confirmed that Minister Ambrose took a course at the Institut but that the Minister paid for that course with her own funds.

“We take issue with the NDP not checking the facts and making insinuations about questionable expenses of a minister,” said Pierre Florea, Ambrose’s communications director.

A four-week midsummer course at the school is 2,930 Euros (about $4,200 Cdn dollars) and accommodation at the school is an additional 450 to 2,200 Euros.