A pricey trip for a group of Conservative MPs sponsored by an interest group and a Hungarian think-tank could soon come under the microscope by the House of Commons ethics committee.
NDP ethics critic Matthew Green served notice Monday that he will introduce a motion for the committee to take a closer look at a trip to London last June sponsored by Canadians for Affordable Energy and the Danube Institute. The trip, billed as an opportunity to discuss energy policy, included thousands of dollars in flights, hotels and ground transportation as well as a dinner at the Guinea Grill in London’s Mayfair district with $600 bottles of champagne that rung in at an estimated $6,262.
Conservative MPs Steven Ellis, Philip Lawrence, Rosemarie Falk and Shannon Stubbs were sponsored by Canadians for Affordable Energy. Conservative MP John Williamson, who founded that group, which is now run by former Liberal MP Dan McTeague, was sponsored by the Danube Institute.
Under the House of Commons rules, members of Parliament are allowed to accept sponsored travel but must disclose travel that they accept and file a report that includes details about the trip.
They’re not even in power and they’re already having spending scandals.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
NDP ethics critic Matthew Green served notice Monday that he will introduce a motion for the committee to take a closer look at a trip to London last June sponsored by Canadians for Affordable Energy and the Danube Institute.
The trip, billed as an opportunity to discuss energy policy, included thousands of dollars in flights, hotels and ground transportation as well as a dinner at the Guinea Grill in London’s Mayfair district with $600 bottles of champagne that rung in at an estimated $6,262.
Conservative MPs Steven Ellis, Philip Lawrence, Rosemarie Falk and Shannon Stubbs were sponsored by Canadians for Affordable Energy.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Michael Barrett gave notice that he will move that the committee also hold hearings into whether the government thwarted the RCMP’s attempt to look into SNC-Lavalin affair by refusing to release cabinet documents needed for its investigation.
In response to a question from Liberal MP Pam Damoff, Bélanger said sponsored travel has been a concern for a long time.
Von Finckenstein, who said he was unaware of the London trip, earlier told the committee he has decided to harmonize the ethics reporting rules with those of the lobbying code of conduct and set the same thresholds of $40 per gift and an annual maximum of $200.
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