UPDATED - Just in time for the last QP of the year, it's ... Peter MacKay's $1,452 a night hotel tab?

Courtesy of those ever-industrious ATIP dataminers at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation comes the opposition-outrage-ready revelation that Defence Minister Peter MacKay racked up thousands of dollars in hotel bills during trips to Munich and Istanbul last year. 

Defence Minister Peter MacKay charged taxpayers $2,904 for a two-night stay at the luxurious Bayerischer Hof when he went to a security conference in Munich, Germany in February of 2010. MacKay arrived in Munich after attending an informal meeting of NATO defence ministers in Turkey, where he billed taxpayers $2,310 for a three-night stay at Istanbul's Ceylon Intercontinental Hotel. At $1,452 and $770 a night respectively, these room tabs go far beyond what most taxpayers would consider reasonable. 

 In Munich, MacKay's staff stayed at the Munich Park Hilton, an eight-minute cab ride away, for $239 a night. In Istanbul, MacKay's staff stayed in the same hotel, but paid $276 per night.

Canada has earned its seat at major international conferences, including the Munich Security Conference held annually at Hotel Bayerischer Hof. Nation-to-nation meetings that take place at these conferences advance Canadian interests and activities - including the work of our men and women serving in Afghanistan. 

Canada booked accommodations at the same hotel the Munich Security Conference takes place. 

 The Minister's costs were disclosed on proactive disclosure nearly 2 years ago.