WE really need to get rid of this guy

[spaminator]

Justin Trudeau's plane breaks down during lavish Jamaican holiday: Report
Second time in four months a PM plane has been grounded

Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Jan 05, 2024 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 2 minute read

It's believed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vacationed at this luxurious beachfront villa dubbed the Frankfort at Prospect Estate in Jamaica, a former slave plantation, from Dec. 26, 2023, to Jan. 4, 2024.
It's believed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vacationed at this luxurious beachfront villa dubbed the Frankfort at Prospect Estate in Jamaica, a former slave plantation, from Dec. 26, 2023, to Jan. 4, 2024.
Justin Trudeau’s latest vacation gaffe has taken yet another turn.


On the heels of news that the Prime Minister and his family were gifted the Christmastime getaway – at a former slave plantation in Jamaica – comes word the Canadian Armed Forces sent a second plane to Jamaica this week.


Why? The military aircraft that brought Trudeau to the Caribbean island for the family vacation reportedly became “unserviceable.”

Andrée-Anne Poulin, spokesperson for the Department of National Defence (DND), confirmed two Royal Canadian Air Force CC-144 Challengers travelled to Jamaica, according to a CBC report on Friday.

“The first aircraft that transported the Prime Minister’s party became unserviceable after arrival,” Poulin wrote in an emailed response, per the CBC report. “The second aircraft brought a maintenance team to repair the first aircraft, and remained in the area as a backup for the Prime Minister’s departure, if necessary.”


It was not immediately clear what happened to Trudeau’s plane or when it became unserviceable.

It’s also not clear what costs might be associated with the aircraft issues.

The plane that took the Prime Minister to Jamaica was one of the military’s newer Challenger aircraft.



It’s the second instance in less than four months where a plane transporting Trudeau was grounded due to mechanical issues.

Trudeau’s departure from India after a G20 summit meeting September was delayed two days after pre-flight checks showed a part on the CC-150 Polaris was faulty and had to be replaced.


Security protocol dictates that Trudeau is required to travel on military planes.

Trudeau and family members flew to Montego Bay, Jamaica on Dec. 26.

The PMO originally said he would be paying for his family’s accommodations but later flip-flopped and said Trudeau and his family were staying in Jamaica “at no cost at a location owned by family friends.”

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the problems with the plane Friday, per the CBC, and referred questions to DND.

On Thursday afternoon, flight tracking sites showed the two Challengers flying back to Ottawa with the second one not far behind the PM’s plane.

Trudeau’s vacations have raised many an eyebrow. His trip to visit the Aga Khan on a private island in 2016 resulted in a former ethics commissioner finding Trudeau violated ethics rules that prohibit ministers from accepting gifts or other advantages.

The Jamaican property currently rents out for $7,000 USD per night meaning the nine-night trip – from Dec. 26 to Jan. 4 – could have cost $63,000 USD or $84,000 CAD just for the accommodation.

Justin Trudeau's plane breaks down during lavish Jamaican holiday: Report

Justin Trudeau's latest vacation gaffe has taken yet another turn.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

So? He's in a former slave-holding country when he's back in Canada.

 

[pgs]

So? He's in a former slave-holding country when he's back in Canada.

Slavery was outlawed in the British Empire prior to Canada becoming a country . I’m back . I must have been barred for some reason .

 

[Taxslave2]

I can see bringing the plane back. It is still usable. Why they brought turdOWE back with it is beyond comprehension.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Slavery was outlawed in the British Empire prior to Canada becoming a country . I’m back . I must have been barred for some reason .

Yes, yes. We know. You take credit for any "Canadian" achievement of which you approve since Cartier, and dodge anything that seems not quite the thing between then and 1867, or since then if anybody but the Tories were in power.

 

[petros]

Yes, yes. We know. You take credit for any "Canadian" achievement of which you approve since Cartier, and dodge anything that seems not quite the thing between then and 1867, or since then if anybody but the Tories were in power.

Fix your modern slave problem before you bitch about Canada.

Painting an even grimmer picture, more than 370,000 unaccompanied children have come to our southern border unlawfully under President Biden, and studies show that 60% of unaccompanied migrant children are caught by cartels and exploited through child pornography and drug trafficking. Only 1% of victims are rescued.Aug 10, 2023

https://luttrell.house.gov › media

OPINION: Human and drug trafficking fueled by cartels - Morgan Luttrell​

 

[pgs]

Yes, yes. We know. You take credit for any "Canadian" achievement of which you approve since Cartier, and dodge anything that seems not quite the thing between then and 1867, or since then if anybody but the Tories were in power.

Right .

 

[spaminator]

Conservatives call for ethics probe into Trudeau’s free Jamaican holiday stay
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Stephanie Taylor
Published Jan 10, 2024 • 2 minute read
It's believed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vacationed at this luxurious beachfront villa dubbed the Frankfort at Prospect Estate in Jamaica, a former slave plantation, from Dec. 26, 2023, to Jan. 4, 2024.
It's believed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vacationed at this luxurious beachfront villa dubbed the Frankfort at Prospect Estate in Jamaica, a former slave plantation, from Dec. 26, 2023, to Jan. 4, 2024.
OTTAWA — The Prime Minister’s Office is denying allegations it misled the ethics commissioner, after the federal Conservatives called for an investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s vacation in Jamaica.


The Conservatives want the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner to look into how PMO staff handled the detail that Trudeau stayed for free.


Press secretary Mohammad Hussain said in a statement Wednesday evening that “as per standard practice, the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner was consulted prior to the travel to ensure that the rules were followed.”

“Any allegation that we would mislead the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is categorically false.”

Conservative MP and ethics critic Michael Barrett sent a letter to commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein on Tuesday asking whether he knew Trudeau was staying at a luxury estate owned by a family friend.


Barrett says the vacation is “not the equivalent of staying at a friend’s home” calling it instead a gift with commercial value.

The Canadian Press has not independently verified a National Post report that Trudeau vacationed at a luxury estate owned by longtime family friend Peter Green. Green’s Prospect Estate rents villas for between US$1,100 and US$7,000 a night during the holiday season.

“I recognize that those of us in public office have pre-existing friendships, and it is not completely uncommon to stay at a friend’s home over a holiday,” Barrett said in his letter.

“And I also recognize that Justin Trudeau, as a child of wealth and privilege, is likely to have wealthy and privileged friends.”

However, Barrett said the fact Trudeau was gifted such an expensive vacation “could reasonably be seen,” as being intended to influence a government head.


Earlier in the day on Wednesday, the PMO said in a statement that “the Prime Minister and his family were staying with family friends at no cost.”

That is slightly different from last week, when the PMO said the family was staying at a location owned by family friends, not that they were staying with the family.

But that too was different from what the Prime Minister’s Office said before the trip took place, when it said the family was paying for the cost of the vacation. It clarified last week, shortly before the National Post story ran, that in fact Trudeau had reimbursed the government for the equivalent of the cost of commercial flights, but the accommodation in Jamaica was free.

Barrett also raised concerns with the ethics commissioner about the changing narrative from Trudeau’s staff about who was footing the bills for the vacation.


A spokeswoman for von Finckenstein would not say last week what details the Prime Minister’s Office provided about the trip but did say the Conflict of Interest Act allows for a public office holder to accept gifts or other advantages if they come from a friend or relative, without having to disclose them.

In a statement Wednesday, another spokeswoman for the office underlined it “does not approve or ’clear”’ vacations, but “has a role only in ensuring that the gift provisions” in both the conflict of interest and ethics code are followed.

As for Barrett’s letter, spokeswoman Melanie Rushworth said the office is limited in what it can say due to confidentiality provisions.

Conservatives call for ethics probe into Trudeau’s free Jamaican holiday stay

The federal Conservatives called for an investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s vacation in Jamaica.

torontosun.com

 

[pgs]

Great fine him $500:00 . That should work .

 

[harrylee]

Great fine him $500:00 . That should work .

5X the usual

 

[spaminator]

Trudeau's office won't answer questions on $84,000 vacation
The PM said his $84,000 vacation gift from a 'friend' was cleared by the Ethics Commissioner but the Commissioner's office says they don't do that.


Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Jan 11, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
The plane that flew Trudeau to Jamaica for a family vacation broke down earlier this week, prompting the Canadian military to send a second aircraft with a repair crew to the Caribbean island.
The story about Justin Trudeau’s Christmas vacation to Jamaica won’t go away, and with good reason – someone isn’t telling the truth.


The story out of Trudeau’s PMO has changed multiple times and now the Conservatives are asking for a new look by the Ethics Commissioner.


This isn’t just gotcha partisan politics, there are serious questions we don’t have answers to. Trudeau’s office has put out contradictory and possibly false statements about this vacation from the start.

A Dec. 22, 2023, story by the Canadian Press wire service cited the Prime Minister’s Office in making it sound like Trudeau had cleared the trip with the Ethics Commissioner beforehand and was paying for his accommodation, but neither statement is true.

“The office says it consulted the federal ethics commissioner ahead of the coming trip, and that the family will cover the cost of its stay as well as reimburse the cost of travelling on a government plane,” the CP report stated.



Trudeau flew to Jamaica to stay at a former slave plantation on Dec. 26, 2023, and returned on Jan. 4., 2024. Just before his return, his office “clarified” that instead of paying for his accommodation, Trudeau and his family stayed “at no cost at a location owned by family friends.”

That’s what got people asking questions, especially after Postmedia first reported that the villa he and his family stayed in cost $7,000 USD per night or $84,000 CAD for his nine night stay. That’s one heck of a gift from a “family friend,” which is all the more reason questions need to be asked.


Liberal House Leader Steve McKinnon was asked about the trip and the discrepancy between the PMO saying Trudeau would pay for the accommodation and it being free, as well as whether the full information had been presented to the Ethics Commissioner.

McKinnon was emphatic in dismissing any questions about it.

“The Prime Minister followed all the rules and, in fact, got his travel plans pre-approved by the commissioner,” McKinnon said

Here’s the thing, the Ethics Commissioner does not pre-approve vacations despite what the Liberals have been trying to tell Canadians.

“To clarify, the Office does not approve or ‘clear’ regulatees’ vacations. The Office has a role only in ensuring that the gift provisions of the Act and Code are observed,” spokesperson Joycelene Brisebois wrote in an email to The Sun.


As for this being acceptable because it was a gift from a friend, that is something the Conservatives have raised concerns over.

“Is it acceptable for a sitting Prime Minister to accept a benefit of over $80,000, even from a supposed family friend, whether it comes either directly or indirectly through a corporation the friend might have an interest in?” Conservative MP Michael Barrett wrote in a letter to the Ethics Commissioner.

He pointed out that the $84,000 “gift” is more than the median household income of $70,332. There is an exemption for accepting gifts from a friend or relative but it’s not clear that this “gift” would meet the standard.

“Examples are gifts or other advantages offered in a personal setting and on a personal occasion, such as a birthday, wedding, anniversary or retirement,” says guidance published on the Ethics Commissioner’s website.


A gift of $84,000 would appear to be outside the limits of what is acceptable while the Green family looks like they might be outside what the Commissioner defines as a “friend.”

It’s true that Peter Green was friends with the Prime Minister’s father Pierre and that Pierre was even godfather to one of Green’s sons. That doesn’t mean the friends of the father are friends of the son as we learned when Justin Trudeau took a vacation on the private island of Pierre Trudeau’s friend the Aga Khan.

The Prime Minister’s Office gave three different answers that do not match each other when asked about this issue on Wednesday. Asked to clarify on Thursday, they forwarded one of the answers and said they had nothing more to add.

Neither Trudeau nor his office can wish this away.

They led Canadians to believe Trudeau was paying for his stay and that it was all approved by the Ethics Commissioner, neither of which were true.

Trudeau could clear all of this up by offering up something he speaks of often but practices rarely, transparency. Release his communications with the Commissioner.

blilley@postmedia.com

Gifts or Other Advantages

ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca

LILLEY: Trudeau's office won't answer questions on $84,000 vacation

The story about Justin Trudeau’s Christmas vacation to Jamaica won’t go away, and with good reason – someone isn’t telling the truth.

torontosun.com

 

[Ron in Regina]

From what I understand, I don’t think the Ethics Commissioner “clears” gifts of luxury vacations in advance.

In a statement Wednesday, another spokeswoman for the office underlined it “does not approve or ‘clear'” vacations, but “has a role only in ensuring that the gift provisions” in both the conflict of interest and ethics code are followed.

PMO denies misleading ethics commissioner as Conservatives call for probe

OTTAWA — The Prime Minister’s Office is denying allegations it misled the ethics commissioner, after the federal Conservatives called for an investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s vacation in Jamaica. The Conservatives want the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner to look...

kitchener.citynews.ca

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

From what I understand, I don’t think the Ethics Commissioner “clears” gifts of luxury vacations in advance.

In a statement Wednesday, another spokeswoman for the office underlined it “does not approve or ‘clear'” vacations, but “has a role only in ensuring that the gift provisions” in both the conflict of interest and ethics code are followed.

PMO denies misleading ethics commissioner as Conservatives call for probe

OTTAWA — The Prime Minister’s Office is denying allegations it misled the ethics commissioner, after the federal Conservatives called for an investigation into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s vacation in Jamaica. The Conservatives want the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner to look...

kitchener.citynews.ca

Yeah, they don't for Clarence Thomas either.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Yeah, they don't for Clarence Thomas either.

I vaguely knew about Clarence Thomas before your comment above. I’ve done some reading to make the connection to the reference & the nondisclosure of finances, etc…thank you.

Harlan Crow - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[bob the dog]

I vaguely knew about Clarence Thomas before your comment above. I’ve done some reading to make the connection to the reference & the nondisclosure of finances, etc…thank you.

Harlan Crow - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

married to a white woman

 

[petros]

married to a white woman

Sell out.

 

[spaminator]

Liberal forecast – sunny ways with chance of total disaster
Author of the article:Warren Kinsella
Published Jan 13, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read

OTTAWA – Liberal forecast here in the Nation’s Capital: rain, hail and locusts. With a possibility of sunshine, chirping birds, and limitless blue skies.


That, at least, was the Grit forecast at the 90th birthday party of the Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien in Ottawa Thursday night. Lovely and clear, but incoming clouds spelling total disaster. Uncertain, you might say.


This writer was there solely to toast Chretien, so the phone was off. Not notes were taken. But many, many conversations were had, with veteran Liberals from Vancouver Island to Prince Edward Island. It was revealing. But it wasn’t unanimous.

In attendance was the sitting Liberal Prime Minister, who was quite genteel, and kept his focus on the birthday boy.

Also there were many of his cabinet ministers, particularly the ones with leadership ambitions (you could tell they were ambitious, because they were offering to take selfies of people).


And, of course, there were scores of Chretien-era former ministers, MPs, Senators and staffers. Tons of them. All there to celebrate Chretien, and recall some of his many achievements. Among them, winning three back-to-back Parliamentary majorities – a feat that has only been achieved by Sir Wilfred Laurier, more than a century ago.

The attendees were from all over, but quite a few had stuck around the Nation’s Capital after Chretien resigned in 2003. Some did lobby work, some gave advice here and there, and some abandoned political life and got a job in the public service.

But all seemed to have kept their eyes fastened on Ottawa, and the political comings and goings during the ten-year reign of Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau.


What they had to say is significant, because the 350 people in attendance know how to win. They won more majorities than anyone since, and most anyone before. They know their stuff.

There were three camps. The pessimistic, the optimistic, and the undecided. Here’s the political weather forecast from each camp.

THE PESSIMISTS: This group – chiefly represented by those whose livelihood no longer depends on Liberal beneficence – foresee unmitigated disaster for the Liberal brand. This group speculated that a decade in the political wilderness was not just possible, it was inevitable.

The main reason, for the pessimists, wasn’t entirely Justin Trudeau’s fault. The country is in a foul mood, they intoned, and he isn’t the kind of guy you keep around when everyone is miserable.


Besides, Justin has overstayed his welcome, said the pessimists. Nearly a decade in power is plenty – as good as it gets. Time to change the channel.

If there was one criticism the pessimists had, however, it was that the Trudeau-era Liberals aren’t real Liberals. They have moved the party too far to the Left, and have become indistinguishable from the socialists. The woke stuff, in particular, has left the pessimists out in the cold.



THE OPTIMISTS: This group believes – some are actually convinced – they can win again, with Justin. No, they did not attend the party wearing straight jackets.


On the morning of the big party, Abacus released a stunner of a poll showing the Trudeau Grits a whopping 17 points back of Pierre Poilievre’s Tories. Seventeen points!

Pressed for the reasons for their sunny ways outlook, then, the optimists took out their crystal balls. As it were.

The Spring will see interest rate drops, they insisted – something with which most economists agree. The economic fundamentals – debt-to-GDP and the like – are better than any other G7 country. Also true.

Trudeau may not be a Chretien-style PM, they acknowledged. But he is a Chretien-style campaigner, they noted, and he too has won three back-to-back elections. (Although only one of them resulted in a majority.) Also true.

And, the optimists concluded, Poilievre is rage farmer. He doesn’t have any hope stuff on offer – it’s all anger and fear, 24/7. He thinks the country is broken, and the only people who believe that are the ones who wouldn’t vote Liberal if you put an unregistered long gun to their head.


You can’t sustain anger forever, the optimists said. Sooner or later, voters get exhausted by it. And that’s when Poilievre will run out of gas, say the optimists.

I repeat, they were not wearing straight jackets.


THE UNDECIDED: Members of this group tend to be mostly found in the private sector. They’ve done their political bit, and they have moved on to pastures untainted by governmental overreach and bureaucratic machinations. They looked blessedly serene.

And, mostly, they didn’t know what was going to happen. They agreed that it was foolish to underestimate Trudeau, as three successive Conservative leaders had done (one of those leaders, by the by, sang a birthday ditty to Chretien in a video greeting, and he – Stephen Harper – brought the house down).


By the same token, said the undecided, it was foolish to dismiss a 17-point gap, too. With mere months to go before an election happens, they opined, double-digit deficits should not be sniffed at. They’ve been going on for months, and they’re real.

So, there you have it. The winningest faction within the winningest political party in Western democracy – and they’re all split on what the future holds, too.

They, like everyone else, are peering at the skies and wondering. Do we go golfing, or do we head to the root cellar and batten any relevant hatches?

Chretien, meanwhile, was saying nothin’. He wasn’t revealing which camp he belonged to. He told jokes, he brought us to tears, he was terrific.

If he ran again, he’d win another majority.

On that forecast, all present would agree.

KINSELLA: Liberal forecast – sunny ways with chance of total disaster

Liberal forecast in the Nation's Capital: rain, hail and locusts. With a possibility of sunshine, chirping birds, and limitless blue skies.

torontosun.com

 

[bob the dog]

CBC has to be it's own worst enemy. Heather Hiscox wearing a snake skin outfit on the morning news is bite your arm off scary. Viewership is down but as they say "so long as the funding will flow".

Problem is people are happy with jobs when they should be searching for vocations. People interested in what they do don't take six week vacations. Too hard to walk away from the gravy train though.

 

[spaminator]

Canadians need answers after PM offers conflicting statements about vacation
'Is it ever acceptable for a sitting prime minister to accept $84,000?' Tory MP asks


Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Jan 16, 2024 • 3 minute read

When MPs from the House of Commons ethics committee meet on Wednesday morning, they will have some important questions that need answering: What did the prime minister tell the ethics commissioner about his trip to Jamaica and does taking an $84,000 luxury vacation fit within the rules of Parliament?


This isn’t about Justin Trudeau taking a vacation, everyone is entitled to one of those. It’s not even about how luxurious his trip was; it’s about whether Trudeau followed the rules.


The vacation wouldn’t even be a story if Trudeau’s office hadn’t put out more than one conflicting statement on the matter.

In December, before Trudeau and his family left on the trip, the Prime Minister’s Office put out a statement saying that Trudeau would be paying for his own accommodations on the trip. In January, just before his return, his office put out another statement saying that Trudeau had stayed “at no cost at a location owned by family friends.”

It's believed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vacationed at this luxurious beachfront villa dubbed the Frankfort at Prospect Estate in Jamaica, a former slave plantation, from Dec. 26, 2023, to Jan. 4, 2024.
It’s believed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vacationed at this luxurious beachfront villa dubbed the Frankfort at Prospect Estate in Jamaica, a former slave plantation, from Dec. 26, 2023, to Jan. 4, 2024. Prospect Estate Jamaica
There is a world of difference between those two statements and the logical question would be: Which version did Trudeau tell the ethics commissioner? Because as any Liberal will tell you, this trip was “pre-cleared” by the ethics commissioner, which of course would lead any normal person to think that it was within the rules.


Except, the ethics commissioner’s office said in a statement last week that they don’t “pre-clear” vacations.

“To clarify, the office does not approve or ‘clear’ regulatees’ vacations. The office has a role only in ensuring that the gift provisions of the act and code are observed,” spokesperson Jocelyne Brisebois said when asked for clarification on Trudeau’s trip.



She then provided a link to the guidance around accepting gifts from friends and family. One thing that the guidance makes clear is that the friend or relative must pay for the gift personally and it’s not an open season on gifts from family and friends.


“Examples are gifts or other advantages offered in a personal setting and on a personal occasion, such as a birthday, wedding, anniversary or retirement,” the guidance says.



It seems like an $84,000 gift to a family friend you only see once in a while wouldn’t really meet the criteria set out for what is acceptable.

“This $84,000 gift that the prime minister received is the issue here,” Conservative MP Michael Barrett told the Sun. “It’s not that he took a vacation, it’s that he took $84,000 in value in the form of a vacation and claimed it was a gift from a friend.”

Barrett pointed out that Trudeau’s gift of a vacation is worth much more than the average Canadian median income.



As for just staying with a friend, Prospect Estate, the former slave plantation that he stayed at, rents out these villas for a pretty penny. Over the Christmas season, the Frankfort villa that he stayed at goes for about $9,300 per night — or about $84,000 over the nine nights he was there.

Barrett said that if the hotel simply waived the fees, that would be a gift from a corporation, which would not be allowed under the act. He questioned whether Trudeau’s friend paid for the stay and, if so, whether that was acceptable.

“Is it ever acceptable for a sitting prime minister to accept $84,000? Would this be a different conversation if this was $84,000 in cash in a brown envelope, is that OK for a prime minister to accept? I would say no,” Barrett said.

The Trudeau Liberals are trying to dismiss this by saying the ethics commissioner pre-cleared it, something the office denies. They are trying to dismiss this by pretending it’s all fine because it was a gift from a friend.

Nothing about this trip seems to have followed the rules, which is why Canadians deserve more answers.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1533881592086769664

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1747383925515722963

LILLEY: Canadians need answers after PM offers conflicting statements about vacation

When MPs from the ethics committee meet Wednesday, they will have important questions that need answering about Justin Trudeau's vacation.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Trudeau defends Jamaica trip as committee agrees to seek ethics watchdog’s testimony
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Jan 17, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
The House ethics committee is set to meet today to discuss if a probe should be launched over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent holiday vacation to Jamaica.
The House ethics committee is set to meet today to discuss if a probe should be launched over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent holiday vacation to Jamaica.
OTTAWA — A House of Commons committee intends to seek testimony from the federal ethics watchdog on rules regarding gifts, vacations and travel as controversy swirls around Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent trip to Jamaica.


Members of Parliament on the Commons ethics committee agreed to invite interim commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein to testify at the earliest opportunity once the House comes back from a winter break at the end of the month.


The Opposition had pushed for a special meeting Wednesday to discuss a potential probe of Trudeau’s vacation.

Liberal MPs got on board with the idea of asking von Finckenstein to appear, so long as his testimony would include a detailed explanation of the travel rules that are laid out in the Conflict of Interest Act.

It’s important for people to see how the system works so they can maintain trust in their democratic institutions, said Liberal MP Mona Fortier.

Early this month, Trudeau’s office said the prime minister’s family was staying at a location owned by family friends at no cost, after earlier saying the family would cover the cost of their stay.


Trudeau’s office said he consulted with the ethics commissioner and the family would reimburse the public for the expense of travelling on a government plane.

“Like a lot of Canadian families, we went to stay with friends for the Christmas holidays. All the rules were followed,” Trudeau said Wednesday in French during a news conference in New Brunswick.

Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett said everyone is entitled to a vacation, but the problem is the changing narrative coming from the Prime Minister’s Office.

“This is incredibly problematic,” Barrett said.

He said he wants to know whether Trudeau misled von Finckenstein in seeking advice about the trip.

“As per standard practice, the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner was consulted prior to the travel to ensure that the rules were followed,” a spokesperson for the prime minister, Mohammad Hussain, said in a statement last week.


“Any allegation that we would mislead the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is categorically false.”


Barrett said he asked the acting commissioner’s office for its communications with Trudeau’s office about the trip, but his request was denied.

And rightfully so, Liberal MP Pam Damoff argued during a committee hearing Wednesday. Such conversations need to remain private so that politicians can feel comfortable when seeking advice, Damoff said.

The Conflict of Interest Act allows politicians to accept gifts and other advantages only from relatives or family friends with whom they have a well-documented close bond. Trudeau ran afoul of that rule when he was a guest of the Aga Khan in late 2016.


It’s time for the rules to change, New Democrats argue.

“The Liberals and Conservatives both point fingers at each other when they both get favours from their rich friends but then refuse to change the rules as it benefits both of them and the ultra-rich,” NDP House leader Peter Julian said in a statement.

“New Democrats want to see a review of the Conflict of Interest Act to actually crack down on corporate and lobbyist influence in politics, so it’s everyday Canadians who get ahead, not the ultra-wealthy.”

Earlier this month, the National Post reported that Trudeau was staying at a luxury estate owned by his longtime friend Peter Green. The Canadian Press has not independently verified the information, and officials have declined to confirm where Trudeau was staying.

Liberal MPs said they weren’t opposed to the idea of inviting acting commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein to testify, so long as he explains how the travel rules in the law are supposed to work.

Any investigation demands a deeper understanding of the law to avoid damaging the public trust, Fortier said.

Trudeau defends Jamaica trip as committee agrees to seek ethics watchdog’s testimony

The Opposition had pushed for a special meeting Wednesday to discuss a potential probe of Trudeau’s vacation.

torontosun.com