What is it about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that he can’t take a family holiday without making it complicated?
In the latest instance, Mr. Trudeau’s office let it be known on Dec. 22 that he and his wife Sophie, from whom he is legally separated, and their children would spend Dec. 26 to Jan. 4 in Jamaica, and that he would cover the cost of their stay as well the equivalent of the commercial airline cost of their flights (the Prime Minister is obliged to fly on a government jet).
But then, this week, the day before the family’s return to Canada, the PMO clarified that, in fact, they were staying for nine nights “at no cost at a location owned by family friends.”
As it turns out, that no-cost location was a private compound at a luxury resort that is owned by an old Trudeau family friend, and which goes for $9,340 a night.
Let us stop for a moment and say that we support Mr. Trudeau’s right to take a family holiday anywhere he wants to. As well, the Conflict of Interest Act allows public office holders to accept gifts, including holiday stays at reduced rates or for free, from relatives and friends – even if the financial equivalent of the gift is $84,060 – and there is no requirement to publicly disclose the gift.
Mr. Trudeau followed those rules, and yet he still found a way to make it weird by having his office state he would be staying in Jamaica at his own cost, and then being forced to issue a clarification when reporters cottoned on to his luxe quarters.
It’s all a bit too reminiscent of his Christmas 2016 holiday at Bells Cay, a private island in the Bahamas owned by the fabulously wealthy Aga Khan, which only came to light thanks to the digging of reporters.
Mr. Trudeau tried to play the friend card in that instance, but the federal ethics commissioner said the Aga Khan and the Prime Minister did not share a close bond of friendship.
Given that the Aga Khan’s foundation was a registered lobbyist of the federal government at the time, the commissioner found that Mr. Trudeau had breached the Conflict of Interest Act by accepting a free Christmas vacation on the island, as well as another family jaunt to Bells Cay in March of the same year.
The commissioner also found that Mr. Trudeau violated the act when he accepted rides on private aircraft to the island, a clear breach of the rules.
But while the Prime Minister has priors on his ethics rap sheet, and while he did himself no favours by not being more transparent about his latest Caribbean adventure, it appears his family vacation falls within the bounds of the Conflict of Interest Act. Which means it’s the act that needs attention.
It is frankly absurd that the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, MPs and their families are allowed to accept free holidays worth tens of thousands of dollars, cases of wine, tickets to events, and even just plain old money, without having to so much as disclose the gifts, as long as they come from relatives or friends.
It is also absurd that relatives and friends are broadly lumped into the same category. There is a material difference between a parent or sibling, and an old buddy from high school who made it good in business.
No reasonable person should find fault with an elected public official staying in the home of a relative or good friend for a family holiday, sharing the bathrooms and the dishwashing duties. Most would also be okay with someone gifting a free vacation to their child or sibling who happens to be a public office holder.
But being gifted a $9,340-a-night compound at a luxury commercial resort by a friend is a different matter. That constitutes lost revenue, which inherently raises the perception of an obligation, even if none exists in the mind of the friend.
To prevent this, the Conflict of Interest Act needs to change. MPs should be obliged to disclose gifts from friends and anyone other than their immediate family. It would make sense to set a threshold below which no public disclosure is required – make it $1,000, the amount over which any gift received by a public office holder or their family that doesn’t come from a friend or relative must be forfeited to the Crown under the Conflict of Interest Act.
Doing so would tighten rules that are far too vague for comfort. It would also force more transparency on the Prime Minister, which would be welcome.