Leading the way on accountability and transparency in Parliament, Liberal Members of Parliament and Senators today proactively posted their travel and hospitality expenses on the party’s website.
“Canadians asked for openness and honesty from their government, but instead got secrecy, distrust and scandal,” said Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau. “For us, transparency isn’t just a word; it’s a way of doing business. That’s why we have gone above and beyond what any other party is doing and have started to publicly disclose our expenses.”
In the wake of successive Conservative ethics abuses, Canadians’ faith in Parliament has been seriously shaken. In response, Liberals put forward their Open Parliament Plan, a component of which was the proactive disclosure of travel and hospitality expenses. Other elements include: opening up meetings of the secretive House of Commons Board of Internal Economy; requiring common, quarterly and more detailed online expense reports easily accessible to Canadians; and working with the Auditor General to develop public guidelines to ensure proper spending in Parliament. In June, Liberals sought unanimous consent in the House of Commons to implement the full plan but were blocked by the NDP.
“The Liberal Party of Canada is the only party with a comprehensive plan to make Parliament more accountable and transparent, and publicly disclosing our expenses is just the first step,” said Mr. Trudeau. “When Parliament returns this week, Canadians can count on us to continue pushing for measures to prevent ethical breaches, increase openness and transparency, and strengthen the integrity of our electoral system.”