Politics
Commons stops MPs from claiming home internet bills in rule change
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MPs have been banned from adding their home internet bills to their office expenses, after the body that administers the House of Commons decided the practice was no longer justified.
MPs on the Board of Internal Economy voted unanimously on Thursday to put a stop to the claims, starting at the end of next month.
Last year, 20 per cent of the country’s 338 MPs, who each earn a minimum of $182,600 a year, claimed their home internet costs, the board heard.
The ability of MPs to claim home internet expenses predated the pandemic. They relied on home internet when Parliament moved to virtual meetings after COVID-19 began to spread.
Between July and September, when MPs were able to participate in Parliament either virtually or in person, dozens of them continued to claim the expenses. Among them was chief government whip Steven Mackinnon, who is a member of the Board of Internal Economy.
Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the Conservatives’ chief whip, told the board that while Canadians are “having a difficult time paying bills with inflation at the high rates it is … this seems to be something that should be a personal expense and not tied to your job as an MP.”
She said the Conservative Party has already told its MPs to stop claiming the charges.
Liberal House Leader Mark Holland said his party has also told its MPs to stop billing taxpayers for home internet.
“There might have been a time where this particular item made sense. In a contemporary context it does not,” Mr. Holland told the board. “Internet is something we all have to have in our homes in the same way we have to have hydro.”
Peter Julian, the NDP House Leader, and Claude de Debellefeuille, the Bloc Quebecois whip, also voiced support for ending MPs’ ability to claim the expenses.
Every MP claimed the cost of their constituency office internet last year, which they will continue to be able to do.
The board heard that in the third quarter of last year, there was a sharp rise in Commons expenses compared to the same period in 2021. This was largely due to MPs returning to work in person following the end of COVID-19 public-health restrictions. It included an additional $11.6-million to cover MPs’ increased travel costs.
Politics
CAQ whip set to jump into federal politics as candidate for Poilievre's Conservatives – CBC.ca
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has dipped into the Quebec government ranks to add a new candidate to his team.
Éric Lefebvre, the Coalition Avenir Québec government whip, is leaving the province’s ruling party and will sit as an Independent before joining the Tories ahead of the next federal election.
Poilievre wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was proud to have Lefebvre join the Conservative team.
On Tuesday night, Lefebvre announced he was leaving the CAQ caucus but would continue to represent the riding of Arthabaska, northeast of Montreal, as an Independent.
Quebec Premier François Legault wrote on X that he asked Lefebvre to withdraw from caucus.
Lefebvre, who was unsuccessful in a 2008 run for the federal Conservatives, first won the Arthabaska riding in a 2016 byelection and was re-elected in 2018 and 2022.
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
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Viewer asks about Trump followers' assertion that trial is political. CNN anchor responds – CNN
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New York Times reporter and CNN senior political analyst Maggie Haberman joins CNN’s Laura Coates to answer questions from viewers about the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump.
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