Statement by Liberal Party of Canada Leader Justin Trudeau

January 16, 2014

THORNHILL, ON – The Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement:

“On December 5th, the Clerk of the House of Commons, Ms. Audrey O’Brien, contacted the Liberal Whip’s office regarding a review – in response to the unanimous consent motion in the House of Commons – dealing with the disclosure of paid speaking engagements by Members of Parliament.

“At this time, my office was advised that a Parliamentary expense of $672.00 was claimed for an event two years ago on April 25, 2012, in Kingston, ON, that was unrelated to my Parliamentary duties.

“Once informed of the situation, my office conducted a review of the records related to this claim.

“It was discovered that this error related to a transportation claim. The claim in question had been paid appropriately by Speaker’s Spotlight, the agency that handled my paid speaking engagements. As had been our usual practice, the speaking agency paid the entire bill and the transportation company had received payment of the invoice directly from them. This practice allowed me to separate my expenses related to contracts with the speaking agency and those expenses related to my work as a Member of Parliament.

“In this case, the transportation company also inadvertently sent a copy of the invoice to my Parliamentary office. Despite the fact that the invoice did not bill my office, but rather to Speaker’s Spotlight, and indicated it had been paid in full to them, due to human error, the invoice was batched with a number of other invoices relating to my Parliamentary duties, which involved the same transportation company used for my regular travel between Ottawa and Montreal, totaling $2085.71. I did not detect this error when signing the claim. The claim was then sent to the House of Commons administration. In turn, they did not detect the error and I received a refund for the entire claim of $2085.71.

“Shortly after being advised of this error, I wrote a personal cheque for the improper claim of $672.00 and asked that it be delivered to the Receiver General for Canada immediately. I also requested my office to communicate the situation and the reimbursement to Ms. O’Brien and to inquire as to what interest may be owed on the amount.

“Subsequently, and in addition to the scope of the Clerk’s review, I directed my office to undertake a more detailed review of the travel status expenses account during the period of my paid speaking engagements. From this review, we have identified two additional per diem claims from four years ago that should not have been claimed. One is from November 6, 2009, for $83.55, and the other is from May 7, 2010, for $84.50. While I was travelling on those days, the main activities that I undertook were related to contracts with Speaker’s Spotlight and my return home to Montreal. As such, I have reimbursed the Receiver General $168.05.

“As a Member of Parliament, I take full, personal responsibility for the financial administration of my office, including these errors.

“With the new Liberal Party system of proactive disclosure, these errors could have been caught much earlier, so it is our hope that the House of Commons administration will soon adopt a similar system.”