The House of Commons Ethics Committee (CEC) voted 7 to 3 to reject a Conservative motion to request internal emails about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s latest sun holiday, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “There has been a change in the story three times,” said Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON) at a CEC meeting. “Find out if there had been a deception.”The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) 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, although officials refused to disclose where they were staying at first. The PMO had said Trudeau was paying for the trip with his estranged wife Sophie and their three children out of his own pocket, but it later claimed accommodations were provided by family friends. Barrett asked the CEC “order all correspondence including emails, text messages, messages sent on any electronic messaging applications, phone call logs, handwritten notes, memoranda, briefing materials and any documents produced regarding the Prime Minister’s travel to Prospect Estate in Jamaica.”The Prospect Estate and Villa is a Jamaican resort owned by the Green family. Trudeau Foundation donor Peter Green is a longtime friend of the Trudeaus through his family’s oil and gas company Luscar Limited. Political aides announced on January 10 the Office of the Ethics Commissioner (OEC) was consulted before the trip to ensure the rules were abided by. The PMO said the OEC cleared the vacation. Since then, the OEC said it is not a function it provides. “They don’t pre-clear vacations,” said Barrett. “And the Commissioner cannot release the correspondence between the Prime Minister and his office without the authority to do that or an instruction to do that.”At the moment, he said the question he has is if the OEC deceived or misled in any way, adding the CEC should get to the bottom of that. “The best way to do that would be to have the Ethics Commissioner come to this committee,” he said. Liberal, Bloc Quebecois and NDP MPs rejected the motion for documents. NDP MP Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, MB) said no paperwork was required to prove the PMO was deceptive. “The Ethics Commissioner doesn’t pre-approve things,” said Blaikie. “I know this from my own experience.”Blaikie acknowledged people “can already see the Prime Minister’s Office is doing a bad job of being accountable to Canadians.” “We can already see the Prime Minister’s Office has given inconsistent answers,” he said. “We don’t need to see the emails.”With this vacation, he said it might be what Trudeau is doing is permitted by the rules. There is no rule prohibiting an expensive vacation. “But there are rules that talk about what is appropriate to repay,” he said. Trudeau was cited by the OEC in 2017 for breaching the Conflict of Interest Act for accepting a $215,000 vacation from Canadian government contractor the Aga Khan. He apologized in 2021 after photographers caught him strolling on a beach holiday in Tofino BC, on the initial Truth and Reconciliation Day. The PMO had said he was in private meetings in Ottawa at the time. He billed taxpayers $162,792 for another week-long Christmas holiday in Jamaica in 2022. “We recognize the holiday will be difficult for many Canadians with the cost of living tied to global inflation,” he said. “Times are tough.”
The House of Commons Ethics Committee (CEC) voted 7 to 3 to reject a Conservative motion to request internal emails about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s latest sun holiday, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “There has been a change in the story three times,” said Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON) at a CEC meeting. “Find out if there had been a deception.”The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) 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, although officials refused to disclose where they were staying at first. The PMO had said Trudeau was paying for the trip with his estranged wife Sophie and their three children out of his own pocket, but it later claimed accommodations were provided by family friends. Barrett asked the CEC “order all correspondence including emails, text messages, messages sent on any electronic messaging applications, phone call logs, handwritten notes, memoranda, briefing materials and any documents produced regarding the Prime Minister’s travel to Prospect Estate in Jamaica.”The Prospect Estate and Villa is a Jamaican resort owned by the Green family. Trudeau Foundation donor Peter Green is a longtime friend of the Trudeaus through his family’s oil and gas company Luscar Limited. Political aides announced on January 10 the Office of the Ethics Commissioner (OEC) was consulted before the trip to ensure the rules were abided by. The PMO said the OEC cleared the vacation. Since then, the OEC said it is not a function it provides. “They don’t pre-clear vacations,” said Barrett. “And the Commissioner cannot release the correspondence between the Prime Minister and his office without the authority to do that or an instruction to do that.”At the moment, he said the question he has is if the OEC deceived or misled in any way, adding the CEC should get to the bottom of that. “The best way to do that would be to have the Ethics Commissioner come to this committee,” he said. Liberal, Bloc Quebecois and NDP MPs rejected the motion for documents. NDP MP Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, MB) said no paperwork was required to prove the PMO was deceptive. “The Ethics Commissioner doesn’t pre-approve things,” said Blaikie. “I know this from my own experience.”Blaikie acknowledged people “can already see the Prime Minister’s Office is doing a bad job of being accountable to Canadians.” “We can already see the Prime Minister’s Office has given inconsistent answers,” he said. “We don’t need to see the emails.”With this vacation, he said it might be what Trudeau is doing is permitted by the rules. There is no rule prohibiting an expensive vacation. “But there are rules that talk about what is appropriate to repay,” he said. Trudeau was cited by the OEC in 2017 for breaching the Conflict of Interest Act for accepting a $215,000 vacation from Canadian government contractor the Aga Khan. He apologized in 2021 after photographers caught him strolling on a beach holiday in Tofino BC, on the initial Truth and Reconciliation Day. The PMO had said he was in private meetings in Ottawa at the time. He billed taxpayers $162,792 for another week-long Christmas holiday in Jamaica in 2022. “We recognize the holiday will be difficult for many Canadians with the cost of living tied to global inflation,” he said. “Times are tough.”
