Article Contents
A New Democrat lawmaker whose Christmas trip with his family cost Canadian taxpayers more than $17,000 has reimbursed some of the expenses.
CBC reported earlier this month that Niki Ashton, MP for Churchill-Keewatinook-Aski in northern Manitoba, billed taxpayers for $17,641.12 for a trip from Thompson, Manitoba, to Ottawa, Quebec City, Montreal and back to Ottawa, including $13,619.90 in airfare and other transportation expenses, $2,508.39 in lodging and $1,512.83 in meals and other miscellaneous expenses, according to House of Commons records.
Article Contents
The trip began on December 21, five days after the House of Representatives went on Christmas recess, and continued into the new year. Ashton was accompanied on the trip by her husband, Bruce Moncur, and their two children.
However, in a media statement issued on Monday and shared with the National Post, Ashton said he had repaid some of the costs incurred.
“I believe in accountability and the accuracy of the facts,” she said. “I went to Ottawa to address an urgent bed bug issue that occurred in my building and apartment following spraying on Dec. 20. The cost was approved by the House of Commons. I then met separately with stakeholders in Quebec.”
Ashton declined to name the people involved, citing privacy issues. In a statement to the National Post, NDP spokesperson Alana Cahill said: “During her visit to Quebec City, Niki Ashton met with people working in the cultural sector from Quebec's black community, Fair Boat Quebec officials, writers and members of the trade union movement. These discussions focused on a range of topics, including official languages, cultural promotion, electoral reform and fair taxation.”
Article Contents
Cahill added that he also paid expenses Ashton incurred on statutory holidays while in Quebec, saying, “The House of Commons has rules regarding the travel of members. Mr Ashton submitted invoices and was reimbursed.”
Editor's recommendation
NDP MP Niki Ashton billed taxpayers for $17,000 for a Christmas trip.
Trudeau's bloated civil service monster comes back at him
Ashton told Canadian news site National Observer that she reimbursed her husband for his expenses in Quebec – four nights' accommodation and food, plus a rental car – totaling about $2,900, but she said she brought her husband along on the trip because she needed his help dealing with a bedbug infestation in Ottawa.
“As a result of media coverage of these travel applications, I and my family have been subjected to death threats, harassment and abuse,” Ashton said in a statement.
She also told Canada's National Observer that the threats included social media photos of her children and the social media accounts of her husband, who ran as the NDP's nominee in 2014 and now works as a teacher and advocate for Afghanistan veterans.
Article Contents
“The article was taken from his social media accounts, painted him as a target, unfairly politicized him and promoted a misleading narrative,” she said.
“The debate surrounding this trip, which was approved by the House of Commons, is distracting from the important work the New Democratic Party is doing on behalf of Canadians,” she added in a statement.
A CTV News expense analysis last year found that MPs spent more than $14.6 million of taxpayer money on travel in the first half of 2023, an increase of about 10 per cent over the previous six months.
The report found that outside of party leaders, Ashton was the second-highest spender on travel after Bloc Quebecois MP Marieline Gilles, spending $131,527.53 in the six-month period.
The analysis also found that, broken down by political party, the NDP had the highest travel expenses per MP, at about $60,000, $16,000 higher than the national average.
But Ashton said the airline Calm Air has a monopoly on flights in northern Manitoba and its fees are “exorbitantly high.”
“When you have only one airline, you have to be completely on that airline's terms,” ​​she told Canada's National Observer newspaper. “At the end of the day, we need competition and we need the federal government to step up and communicate that clearly to regional airlines like ours.”
Last month, the Canadian Competition Bureau announced it would conduct an investigation into competition in Canada's airline industry, stating that “Canada's population is widely dispersed, so other modes of transportation may not be viable substitutes for air travel. Greater competition in the industry could lead to lower prices, better service and increased productivity.”
Our website is the home for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, long-form articles and thought-provoking commentary. Bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up here for our daily newsletter, “Posted.”
Share this article on social networks
