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The expense program for governors general was created in 1979 and appears to be unique among federal government positions. There is little public transparency in how the money is spent; Rideau Hall says it requires receipts and invoices, but it would not disclose what exactly is being expensed or how much other governors general are spending. Canada’s access-to-information law does not cover Rideau Hall.

In general, the expenses can range from “administrative support, office space and furniture, to professional services, travel and accommodation,” according to a Rideau Hall spokesperson.

The only public disclosure of the expenses is in the public accounts, which are tabled annually in Parliament. Since 1995 — which is as far back as public accounts are posted online — Romeo LeBlanc is the only governor general other than Clarkson to have expensed more than $100,000 in a year, which he did in 2008 and 2009.

Clarkson, who was governor general from 1999 to 2005, has expensed more than $100,000 in nine of the 12 fiscal years since she left office. The only years she didn’t, from 2012 to 2014, immediately followed a Toronto Star article published in 2011 that first reported on the expenses. It is not clear whether Clarkson stopped filing expenses in that period or just dropped below the $100,000 threshold.

Clarkson’s highest year of expenses came in 2007-08, when she claimed $169,098. In the most recent filing, tabled Oct. 19, she claimed $114,803. Not counting the gap from 2012 to 2014, Clarkson has billed taxpayers a total of $1,119,362 in expenses since she left Rideau Hall.