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.