Conservative MP Michael Barrett said he would like to see the rules surrounding acceptable gifts and trips for Members of Parliament to be reexamined in the wake of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s controversial Jamaican vacation.
Trudeau accepted an $80,000 trip to Jamaica over the Christmas holidays, paid for by Peter Green, a man Trudeau claimed to be an old family friend.
Canada’s interim ethics commissioner said that the vacation did not violate any rules and confirmed that Trudeau checked with him before accepting the gifted accommodation from his friend.
“He consulted us, and we advised him,” Konrad von Finckenstein told MPs on Tuesday, testifying before the House of Commons ethics committee regarding what the rules are in relation to gifts and trips.
Finkenstein told the committee that as far as his office was concerned, the matter has been dealt with and the case is closed.
However Barrett responded to Finkenstein’s position by saying that that the time has come to discuss a change in the rules, calling it “not sustainable.”
“The status quo obviously isn’t working,” Barrett told CP24, en route to a Conservative caucus meeting on Thursday.
“Regardless of whether Trudeau stayed with friends or not, the prime minister should not be taking lavish holidays at a time when Canadians are lining up at food banks in record numbers.”
The Prime Minister’s Office had initially said Trudeau would personally pay for his Jamaica trip, however, when it was later divulged that it was paid for by a family friend, opposition MPs took notice.
The PMO later released a statement clarifying this distinction, assuring Canadians that the family trip was of no cost to the taxpayer.
“If it had not been an acceptable gift, it would have had to be reported on our website… nothing has been reported,” said Finkenstein.
