Opposition MLAs will begin posting itemized travel and accommodation reports on a public website next month in an effort to improve accountability and pressure government MLAs to do the same.
NDP house leader John Horgan said it’s taking too long to reach a consensus with the Liberals on the joint release of MLA expenses.
So NDP politicians have advised Speaker Linda Reid that they plan to forge ahead alone. They intend to release their weekly expense claim forms dating back to July 1 and post them on the NDP caucus website.
“We believe it’s past time to do that, and we’re not prepared to wait any longer for the government caucus to get behind this,” Horgan said. “We’re going to lead in this instance.”
NDP caucus chairman Shane Simpson said most information will be released, although the names of hotels where MLAs stay will be removed for safety reasons.
“Essentially, you’re going to see every expenditure and what I get,” he said. “You’re going to be able to look at it every month and see everything that I received money for that month.”
Government and opposition MLAs began releasing their total quarterly expenses last fall after auditor general John Doyle slammed the lax bookkeeping at the legislature.
But politicians came under fire for failing to provide a detailed breakdown of how and where the money was spent. The lack of detail meant the public was unable to determine whether their MLAs’ spending was appropriate or not, critics said.
Horgan credited the Times Colonist with pushing the issue over the past year. He said the NDP is doing its best to respond in the absence of a consensus position with the Liberals.
“We’re going to do what we can as a caucus to demonstrate to the public that we have nothing to hide,” he said. “Any expense that we make, we believe, is in the public interest, and constituents will be able to judge that from this point on.”
Horgan said he hopes the NDP’s move will pressure the Liberals to release their own expenses in the near future.
Finance Minister Mike de Jong favours public release of MLA expenses but has been frustrated by his colleagues’ reluctance to provide a detailed breakdown of how they spend public money.
“There are government jurisdictions that allow people to click on and see precisely [how money is spent],” he said. “I think that’s the objective we should be working toward.”
De Jong already posts his own expense figures on his website.
The MLAs’ expenses are separate from their constituency expenses, which are expected to be released this fall, Simpson said. Constituency expenses will include a breakdown of administration, communications, staff travel, rent, insurance, furniture and photocopy fees.
