The federal ethics watchdog says his office verified that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a legitimate friendship with the person who gifted him a Jamaican vacation, making the free resort stay acceptable.
Interim Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein testified today at the House of Commons ethics committee after it invited him to explain the rules governing travel, vacations and gifts in the wake of the Prime Minister’s controversial vacation.
“This was a true friend who has no relations to the Government of Canada,” von Finckenstein told the committee.
The National Post reported that Mr. Trudeau and his family vacationed in a luxury $9,300-a-night villa at the Prospect Estate and Villas resort, owned by Trudeau family friend Peter Green. It said in total it would have cost approximately $84,000 for the nine-day stay had the family paid for it themselves. The Globe and Mail has not independently verified the report.
The Conflict of Interest Act does not set a limit on the size of a gift a public office holder can accept from a friend. However, the commissioner told the committee that had the gift risen to the lavish level of something like a Ferrari he would have launched an investigation.
The controversy over Trudeau’s family vacation, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 4, was sparked after the Prime Minister’s Office repeatedly changed details regarding the trip, including who paid for it, but would not release details of where he stayed.
