MPs said a friend exemption allowing them to accept expensive gifts for free should be narrowed under the Conflict of Interest Act, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “I am always curious to see the idea of friendship is at the heart of discussions,” said Bloc Quebecois MP Rene Villemure (Trois-Rivieres, QC) at a House of Commons Ethics Committee (CEC) hearing. “Friendship is not banned in our society, but in 2024, even if you can accept a gift from a friend, when we’re talking about significant amounts does it perhaps mean we should have a cap?”Debate at the CEC followed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s $84,000 expense-paid Christmas holiday in Jamaica. Interim Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein acknowledged there is no cap under the Conflict of Interest Act. “If a gift is truly lavish, for example a Ferrari or a million dollars, I can start an investigation because I could have reason to think there is something going on,” said von Finckenstein. “Even among wealthy friends, that is not the kind of gift you give.”The Prime Minister’s Office announced on January 4 Trudeau was staying with his family in Jamaica at no cost, despite a prior claim he would be covering the expenses himself. READ MORE: PMO claims Trudeau staying in Jamaica ‘at no cost’ after prior statement otherwiseThe Trudeaus spent the holidays in Jamaica and were set to return to Ottawa soon after, with officials refusing to disclose where he was. The PMO had said he was paying for the trip with his estranged wife Sophie and their three children out of his own pocket, but he recanted by claiming accommodations were provided by family friend Peter Green. Section 11.2.b of the Conflict of Interest Act permits politicians to accept gifts given by relatives or friends. “The Prime Minister has stated Mr. Green is a friend of the family, that they have been friends for over 50 years,” said von Finckenstein. “He has stayed at Mr. Green’s property since he was a child.”In this case, he said the concept is two friends. The Trudeaus and Greens are friends. Friend is not defined in the Conflict of Interest Act. Bill S-207 proposed deleting the friend exemption, but it lapsed in the Senate in 2015. “It seems like such an obvious amendment,” said former Liberal senator Joseph Day (New Brunswick). NDP MP Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre, ON), who is unrelated to Peter, dismissed criticism of Trudeau’s holiday as muckracking. “I don’t enjoy the political mud throwing and the muckraking that happens here and the faux outrage, quite frankly,” said Matthew. “These things happen.” Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON) said committee hearings were justified because of different accounts of the Jamaica trip by the PMO. “If the Prime Minister or his spokespeople lie to Canadians and say he pays for something, that is what gave rise to the public interest in this issue,” said Barrett. “I am not looking for you to pronounce on the morals of someone who lies or doesn’t.”
