The Ontario city spent over $1.7K on Uber for a 10-day trade trip to Italy

Vaughan, Ont., officials spent tens of thousands on an investment trip to Italy two years ago, according to Global News, with business meetings, sightseeing and winery tours as part of the mission for which more than $1,700 was spent on Uber.

New documents obtained after prolonged freedom of information negotiations with the City of Vaughan describe a 10-day trip to Europe in the summer of 2024.

They point out that the international trade mission had six participants go overseas from Toronto-area municipalities, spending thousands of dollars to try to bring investment back to Ontario.

Deputy Mayor Linda Jackson and Count. Mario Ferri are two of the elected officials carrying out the mission. They were joined by Jackson’s executive assistant and three city staffers from Vaughan’s economic development department.

Based on hundreds of pages of receipts, calendars, emails and credit card statements, the trade mission departed from Toronto Pearson International Airport on July 3, 2024.

The group visited a city in Lazio before traveling to Milan, ending their trip in Rome and returning home 10 days after they left.

Expenditures reviewed by Global News paint a picture of a trip in which Vaughan’s delegates hailed a taxi for a distance of less than two kilometers, spent thousands of dollars on chartered buses and scheduled time for sightseeing.

Officials and council members also met with a number of local entrepreneurs, Italian elected officials and business groups such as the chamber of commerce.

“It seems like a waste of councilors’ time and money to fund this meeting,” said Noah Jarvis, Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

“I don’t know why they can’t just do a Zoom call. Zoom is quite popular, we’ve been using it for six years since 2020. I’m not sure why they can’t use Zoom.”

The city of Vaughan defended the trip and the leads it generated.

“The city believes this mission is productive in advancing economic and cultural development, in addition to intergovernmental goals,” a spokesperson wrote in response to questions from Global News.

“This mission resulted in engagement with several trade, investment and economic development companies and organizations, while strengthening relationships with national government representatives and partners in Sora, Milan and Verona. It also created new opportunities to support trade, investment and talent development initiatives.”

The city said the total budget for the trip was $120,000, including $30,000 in federal funds. Some expenses are also paid from board members’ expense accounts.

Records show that, during the 10-day trip, the Vaughan delegation spent nearly $2,000 ordering Ubers to take them around Milan and Rome.

Receipts reviewed by Global News listed a series of related Uber trips costing more than $1,700, including several trips of three kilometers or less and one $22 fine for canceling the trip.

Throughout a summer 2024 trip to Italy, staff and board members appeared to rely heavily on ride-hailing services.

On July 10, for example, the group spent $31.79 on an Uber 900 meters near Rome’s main train station. The receipt showed that the journey took four minutes compared to a journey that Google Maps said would take about five minutes on foot.

“It costs about $32 for a 900-meter Uber ride,” Jarvis said. “I mean, clearly these council members aren’t trying very hard in terms of cutting corners when it comes to billing taxpayers.”

Three days later, the delegate ordered an Uber for $54.84 to cover 1.8 kilometers in the same area. It also cost them $77.34 to cover 2.2 kilometers near the Tiber River.

The cost of other Uber rides on this mission is much more expensive.

On July 13, Canadian visitors made the 30-kilometre, 41-minute ride back to the airport for more than $185, while a 19-kilometre Uber in Milan cost $139.61.

Another trip labeled in the documents as “dinner to hotel” cost $112.69.

“Ground transportation was arranged to ensure the mission delegation could arrive and return on time,” the City of Vaughan wrote in response to questions.

“There is no policy against this type of use.”

Receipts for the Ubers show that they were all booked by members of the trade delegation, although it is not clear from the documents who took part in each trip.

Elsewhere, the delegation traveled from Rome to Milan and back by train and spent thousands of dollars on plane tickets from Toronto to Rome.

Staff also paid $4,247.46 to rent the bus for several days.

Calendars, itineraries and travel plans included in the documents released to Global News also outline what the two council members and city staff are scheduled to do during their 10-day trip to Italy.

The mission’s first stop, after landing in Rome, was a trip to the historic town of Sora, a municipality located in Lazio that has had a friendship agreement with Vaughan since 1992.

Once they arrived in Sora, the delegation was intended to take part in a banquet before settling in for the night. The itinerary prepared for the trip stated that they spent the next day in meetings, lunching, and renewing agreements between the two cities.

The next morning, the delegation was scheduled to go on a tour visiting local museums, libraries, churches and cathedrals. Then they took a workshop on Ciammella, a ring-shaped Italian pastry. Next, the delegation is scheduled to have lunch and take part in a “traditional pasta tasting”.

After lunch, the Vaughan delegation’s itinerary called for them to continue their tour of the city, visiting more churches, monasteries, and paper mills. The second full day trading mission will conclude with an aperitif at a local lake and a period of “unstructured time” in town.

A Vaughan spokesperson said the pasta and cake tasting workshops ultimately did not take place.

“The agenda proposed by Sora officials was not implemented,” they wrote, pointing to public reports about the trip.

The report includes few details about how the delegation spent its time in the city.

“During the 2024 mission to Sora, the City of Vaughan delegation met with the Mayor and Council of Sora and renewed the friendship agreement under delegated authority from the Council to the Deputy Mayor,” it reads.

“The delegation strengthened existing partnerships and compiled a list of partnership opportunities to further strengthen relationships.”

The city also sends Global News daily memos regarding events in response to questions. The document appears to refer more to local meetings than tours, but does not include an hourly schedule of events as released through freedom of information.

The next day, July 7, the calendar showed Vaughan’s delegation was scheduled to leave the city, return to Rome and then take a train to Milan.

In the north, the group will meet with more local entrepreneurs and chambers of commerce.

Among the events was a meeting with the Eataly restaurant group – which already has multiple locations in Toronto – to convince them to open a Vaughan store. The delegation also visited Corte Fornaledo, a local winery.

On July 10, Vaughan’s delegation was ready to leave Milan and return to Rome. The calendar shows there are more meetings in Rome with trade representatives and a reception hosted by Air Canada.

The schedule also includes a trip to visit the ambassador to the Vatican, with the last official meeting ending at midday on July 12.

The City of Vaughan said the meeting was canceled at the last minute.

“The meeting with the Ambassador to the Vatican was canceled by the Embassy on the morning it was due to take place,” a spokesperson wrote.

“It is intended to strengthen the relationship that is important to Vaughan’s Italian heritage and the Roman Catholic community and to foster discussions around interfaith dialogue.”

The City of Vaughan said the trip was successful in strengthening ties between the Ontario municipal government and various groups in Italy.

The results, the spokesperson said, will be seen over time.

“Foreign direct investment is a long-term process that involves ongoing engagement and relationship building,” they wrote.

“The City continues to support several investment directives resulting from international economic development activities. Additionally, international economic missions are conducted to explore collaborative opportunities to encourage trade. The delegation met with various economic development stakeholders who are now championing Vaughan’s economy and trade and investment opportunities in Italy.”

The city added that travel in 2024 is in line with federal policy priorities to diversify Canadian trade outside the United States.

“Vaughan continues to work to help Canada achieve its current ten-year target of doubling non-U.S. exports and generating an additional $300 billion in trade,” they wrote.

Both Jackson and Ferri responded to Global News’ questions through the City of Vaughan’s communications department, and broadly echoed the answers city staff sent.

“The City of Sora and the City of Vaughan have had a partnership since 1992. Vaughan is home to much of the Sora diaspora with strong ties both economically and culturally between the two cities,” Jackson wrote.

“This mission is an opportunity to officially renew the partnership in a signing ceremony held on the first day and paves the way for future collaboration.”