Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the Conservatives’ chief whip, told the Board of Internal Economy that MPs’ home internet costs should be a personal expense as Canadians struggle to pay bills due to inflation.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
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.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
