The Canadian government has spent over $170,000 to repatriate women and their children who traveled overseas to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, according to documents released under access to information laws. These documents reveal the costs associated with bringing eight women and their children back from Syria, including business class airfare and hotel expenses in Montreal.

Several of the women have been charged with terrorism-related offenses. In a letter to Jean-Yves Duclos, chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, the Conservative Party has called for an investigation into these expenditures. The letter states, "With Canadians lining up in food banks in record numbers and struggling with housing costs, the Liberal government must answer for why they spent $170,000 on lavish costs to repatriate reported ISIS criminals."

The first repatriation operation, completed in October 2022, cost $10,863. This operation returned Canadians Kimberly Polman and Oumaima Chouay, both of whom are facing terrorism charges. Chouay pleaded guilty last month to participating in the activities of a terrorist group.

The second operation, conducted in April 2023, incurred expenses totaling $132,746. This included $20,331 for 23 hotel rooms at the Marriott hotel near Montreal Airport, which featured room service and catering costs nearing $3,000. Four Canadian women and their ten children were returned during this operation, with three of the women arrested upon arrival. Among them was Aimee Lucia Vasconez, who had been married to two ISIS fighters, according to an affidavit from an RCMP officer. Another woman, Ammara Amjad, also faces terrorism charges.

Individual hotel bills revealed significant expenses, including one room that cost nearly $1,100 due to additional purchases such as $95 worth of wine and a $105 room-service meal. Other charges included $15 for children's ice cream and $24 for smoked meat dishes.

The third repatriation operation, conducted in early July 2023, cost over $27,500. This included purchases of snacks from Costco and Timbits from Tim Hortons, along with hotel expenses exceeding $2,300. Two women from Edmonton, Dina Kalouti and Helena Carson, were part of this group. Both received six-month peace bonds and are required to continue counseling with the Organization for the Prevention of Violence, which assists individuals seeking to leave extremist groups.

The released documents do not account for the costs of traveling to Syria to retrieve the women from detention camps, focusing instead on expenses incurred within Canada. Additionally, some details remain redacted, and 50 pages of documents are still under consultation. Global Affairs Canada has not provided comments regarding the expenditures.