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Conservative MP sues over denial of expense claims for primary residence
In a case that brings to the House of Commons the issue central in the Senate expense scandal, departing Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott has launched legal action over a decision to reject his claim that he is primarily resident in Saskatchewan.
Vellacott says in a document filed in Federal Court that he was denied three years of per diems he claimed for time in Ottawa when he listed his primary residence as a farm in his riding of Saskatoon-Wanuskewin.
The acting Clerk of the House of Commons, Marc Bosc, wrote to Vellacott on June 25 to say that the House Board of Internal Economy, which polices MP spending, determined he was ineligible to claim the per diems, the court application says.
The case marks the first time that the primary residence of a sitting member of Parliament has been challenged publicly since the issue of residency arose in expense claims filed by formerly Conservative senators Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau and Pamela Wallin, and retired Liberal senator Mac Harb.
As MPs tend to return to their ridings on weekends and during breaks in the parliamentary schedule, their primary residency hasn’t been questioned, at least in public, until now.
Many MPs own homes in the Ottawa area and collect $900 a month in residency expenses from the House towards upkeep costs.
Ontario land title records show Vellacott and his wife, Mary, bought a home on Bernice Court in the Ottawa suburb of Orléans in December 2004, paying $349,000.
He “necessarily spends a considerable amount of time during each year – on both sitting and non-sitting days – in Ottawa,” according to the application filed last week.
He bought the Ottawa home, he says, “to reduce the strain on his family, and particularly his two young sons, of being so often apart from Mr. Vellacott …”
Vellacott claims, however, that he always maintained a primary residence in Saskatchewan, living in Saskatoon then moving in 2008 to a farm outside of town. He says he pays taxes and votes in Saskatchewan and has vehicles and health insurance registered there, and will eventually pay capital gains tax on his Ottawa home because it is a secondary residence.
The Ottawa home saved taxpayers “many thousands of dollars over the past 10 years,” by reducing the number of return flights he made back to his riding, Vellacott claims.
Vellacott notes that MPs – like senators – are allowed to claim meals and incidental expenses at the per diem rate set by the board if their primary residence is more than 100 kilometres from the National Capital Region.
Until the spring of 2015, Vellacott says he was never challenged for these “travel status” claims he filed for time he spent in Ottawa.
But in May, House Chief Financial Officer Mark Watters called him to ask about his farm home in Saskatchewan because it was identified, like many rural properties, with a legal description, not a street address.
Vellacott met with Watters to discuss whether he was performing parliamentary business on the days he was in Ottawa for which he claimed per diems.
On June 16, Vellacott says he was later told, the Board of Internal Economy determined that based on his “substantial presence in the National Capital Region (NCR), as well as that of your family” he was considered to be primarily resident in Ottawa and not eligible to collect the per diems.
He was required to repay “substantial” per diems he had collected over the previous three years, he says. The amount of per diems is not mentioned in the court document.
The board’s decision was unreasonable, Vellacott claims, and was based on putting “exclusive weight on the amount of time spent by Mr. Vellacott and his family in Ottawa, a necessary function of his role as member of Parliament, without regard to his particular family situation,” which includes caring for a son with serious mental health problems.
He says he was never given a reasonable opportunity to make representations before the decision.
Vellacott charges that the board “inappropriately and unreasonably purported to retroactively apply new, unwritten and arbitrary policies” on per diems without giving notice to MPs.
He asks the court to set aside the board’s decision and allow the per diems.
None of Vellacott’s allegations has been proven in court. Neither the Board of Internal Economy nor the Attorney General has filed a reply. Vellacott could not be reached for comment Monday.
Vellacott is the first Conservative to take legal action against the board, which is currently being sued by 68 NDP MPs over its decision to require them to repay $4 million associated with mailings and staffing of party offices that the board said breached spending rules.
The issue of primary residency is being tested in Duffy’s ongoing criminal trial. He is accused of claiming residency expenses while residing in a home in Kanata and claiming to be primarily resident in Prince Edward Island.
Duffy’s trial is currently on recess and set to resume Aug. 12.
gmcgregor@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/glen_mcgregor
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Conservative MP sues over denial of expense claims for primary residence | Ottawa Citizen
Conservative MP sues over denial of expense claims for primary residence
In a case that brings to the House of Commons the issue central in the Senate expense scandal, departing Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott has launched legal action over a decision to reject his claim that he is primarily resident in Saskatchewan.
Vellacott says in a document filed in Federal Court that he was denied three years of per diems he claimed for time in Ottawa when he listed his primary residence as a farm in his riding of Saskatoon-Wanuskewin.
The acting Clerk of the House of Commons, Marc Bosc, wrote to Vellacott on June 25 to say that the House Board of Internal Economy, which polices MP spending, determined he was ineligible to claim the per diems, the court application says.
The case marks the first time that the primary residence of a sitting member of Parliament has been challenged publicly since the issue of residency arose in expense claims filed by formerly Conservative senators Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau and Pamela Wallin, and retired Liberal senator Mac Harb.
As MPs tend to return to their ridings on weekends and during breaks in the parliamentary schedule, their primary residency hasn’t been questioned, at least in public, until now.
Many MPs own homes in the Ottawa area and collect $900 a month in residency expenses from the House towards upkeep costs.
Ontario land title records show Vellacott and his wife, Mary, bought a home on Bernice Court in the Ottawa suburb of Orléans in December 2004, paying $349,000.
He “necessarily spends a considerable amount of time during each year – on both sitting and non-sitting days – in Ottawa,” according to the application filed last week.
He bought the Ottawa home, he says, “to reduce the strain on his family, and particularly his two young sons, of being so often apart from Mr. Vellacott …”
Vellacott claims, however, that he always maintained a primary residence in Saskatchewan, living in Saskatoon then moving in 2008 to a farm outside of town. He says he pays taxes and votes in Saskatchewan and has vehicles and health insurance registered there, and will eventually pay capital gains tax on his Ottawa home because it is a secondary residence.
The Ottawa home saved taxpayers “many thousands of dollars over the past 10 years,” by reducing the number of return flights he made back to his riding, Vellacott claims.
Vellacott notes that MPs – like senators – are allowed to claim meals and incidental expenses at the per diem rate set by the board if their primary residence is more than 100 kilometres from the National Capital Region.
Until the spring of 2015, Vellacott says he was never challenged for these “travel status” claims he filed for time he spent in Ottawa.
But in May, House Chief Financial Officer Mark Watters called him to ask about his farm home in Saskatchewan because it was identified, like many rural properties, with a legal description, not a street address.
Vellacott met with Watters to discuss whether he was performing parliamentary business on the days he was in Ottawa for which he claimed per diems.
On June 16, Vellacott says he was later told, the Board of Internal Economy determined that based on his “substantial presence in the National Capital Region (NCR), as well as that of your family” he was considered to be primarily resident in Ottawa and not eligible to collect the per diems.
He was required to repay “substantial” per diems he had collected over the previous three years, he says. The amount of per diems is not mentioned in the court document.
The board’s decision was unreasonable, Vellacott claims, and was based on putting “exclusive weight on the amount of time spent by Mr. Vellacott and his family in Ottawa, a necessary function of his role as member of Parliament, without regard to his particular family situation,” which includes caring for a son with serious mental health problems.
He says he was never given a reasonable opportunity to make representations before the decision.
Vellacott charges that the board “inappropriately and unreasonably purported to retroactively apply new, unwritten and arbitrary policies” on per diems without giving notice to MPs.
He asks the court to set aside the board’s decision and allow the per diems.
None of Vellacott’s allegations has been proven in court. Neither the Board of Internal Economy nor the Attorney General has filed a reply. Vellacott could not be reached for comment Monday.
Vellacott is the first Conservative to take legal action against the board, which is currently being sued by 68 NDP MPs over its decision to require them to repay $4 million associated with mailings and staffing of party offices that the board said breached spending rules.
The issue of primary residency is being tested in Duffy’s ongoing criminal trial. He is accused of claiming residency expenses while residing in a home in Kanata and claiming to be primarily resident in Prince Edward Island.
Duffy’s trial is currently on recess and set to resume Aug. 12.
gmcgregor@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/glen_mcgregor
Comments
We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.
Conservative MP sues over denial of expense claims for primary residence | Ottawa Citizen
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