VANCOUVER B.C.: B.C. government offices billed taxpayers more than half a million dollars for luxury helicopter trips in 2024, according to new records exclusively obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. 

“The government should be using B.C. Ferries wherever possible, not a luxury helicopter service,” said Carson Binda, B.C. Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “With bills like these, Premier David Eby and his NDP staff aren’t even trying to use taxpayer money responsibly.”   

Minister’s offices billed taxpayers a total of $240,884 at the high-end helicopter airline Helijet. 

The Ministry of Finance spent an additional $102,606, Government Communications and Public Engagement spent $14,128. The Premier’s Office created the biggest tab for taxpayers, billing $153,615 at Helijet. In total, the government spent $511,233.  

“Ministers and their staff shouldn’t be using fancy helicopters by default,” Binda said. “The money ministers wasted on helijet could cover the total provincial tax bill for more than 150 B.C. families.”  

Helijet offers its passengers various amenities, including free parking and “elevated passenger lounges offering complimentary wine/beer, Nespresso coffee, tea, drinks and snacks.” Tourism Victoria gushes about the “unparalleled comfort and style,” offered by the private helicopter service. 

Full fare tickets on the helicopter service currently sell for $519 for the short trip between Vancouver and Victoria, while an adult, walk-on B.C. Ferries ticket costs $21. 

“British Columbian families eat White Spot burgers or a bag of chips on the ferry,” Binda said. “The NDP’s partisan staffers are billing those same families for wine and beer in private helicopter terminals.” 

The government’s most recent budget hikes income taxes and expands the provincial sales tax. Those tax hikes will cost a two-income family of four making $100,000 about $450 next year, according to provincial government estimates. The budget also rolls back services including funding for youth with autism, northern and rural tax credits and assisted living facilities for seniors.