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June 23rd, 2015

NDP REALITY CHECK: Conservative appointees partying it up – and leaving taxpayers with the bill

Stephen Harper came to Ottawa promising to clean up Liberal corruption, entitlement and patronage in the wake of the Sponsorship scandal – but Harper broke that promise.

Now, the tired Harper Conservatives are left to defend Conservative corruption, entitlement and patronage.

The latest example is Conservative supporter Ann Gray. Married to a Conservative party operative, she was handed a patronage appointment by Stephen Harper to the Board of Blue Water Bridge Canada.

According to CBC reports, Gray spent over $36,000 on lavish family trips to San Diego, Berlin and Vienna – all expensed to taxpayers. But Gray refuses to apologize for her cruise down the Danube, or business class flights – or even the bottle of Amaretto charged to taxpayers.

"I had just spent a week of my free time doing it. It was, potentially, I guess, a bit of a thank you, a recognition for the time that I had committed to the organization." – Ann Gray, CBC News, June 23, 2015

Translation: I am entitled to my entitlements!

This latest controversial spending by a Conservative patronage appointee comes on the heels of news the former chair of the Canadian Mint – Conservative appointee Jim Love – billed taxpayers $44,566 for trips with his wife to Australia and Vienna. Other Mint staff took an all-expense paid trip to Cancun that included a beach party, gala dinners and a tour of Mayan ruins – all on the public dime.

And of course there’s the den of Conservative and Liberal Patronage called the Canadian Senate – where over thirty Senators are now being investigated by the police for possibly misspending public money.

Remember when Bev Oda’s luxury suites and $16 glass of OJ was the Conservatives biggest problem?

Taxpayers deserve real accountability. Canadians deserve better.