Month: May 2010

Rahim Jaffer's business card

Ian Harvey met with former MP Rahim Jaffer on Aug. 25, 2009 at the Le Castille Steakhouse in Mississauga, Ont. It was the one and only meeting Harvey had with Jaffer, according to testimony Harvey gave today at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. At that meeting — 10 months after Jaffer lost his Edmonton-area seat in in the 2008 general election – Harvey said this is the business card that Jaffer gave him at that meeting:

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And here is an excerpt of an exchange between Jaffer and NDP MP Pat Martin when Jaffer testified at the same committee back on April 21:

Mr. Pat Martin: Have you ever used your previous MP's business card during the course of promoting any private business?

Mr. Rahim Jaffer: Again, you're pulling these things out from a great source—your source—The Toronto Star.

Mr. Pat Martin: I want you to clarify this.

Mr. Rahim Jaffer: I can tell you, sir, that none of these things—

Mr. Pat Martin: Have you ever circulated your MP's business card after you ceased to be an MP?

Mr. Rahim Jaffer: I don't even understand what good that would provide. It would—

Mr. Pat Martin: It would only imply that you still have some sort of relationship to Parliament, even though you're no longer a member of Parliament.

Mr. Rahim Jaffer: As I said, I'll go back to my opening statement, because I think it's clear that—

Mr. Pat Martin: Can you answer that question first?

Mr. Rahim Jaffer: I told you I never did those things. These are allegations. I never would make unsubstantiated claims that I couldn't follow through. We're building a new business—

Mr. Pat Martin: This is your opportunity to make that case.

Mr. Rahim Jaffer: Will you let me finish, or do you want to keep cutting me off? If we're trying to build a business from the ground up that's based on credibility to deliver, the last thing we're going to do is make any claims that we can't deliver. I've told you over and over again throughout my testimony here, as well as in questions, that my number one concern was that my wife, who still served in the government, would never be in any conflict of interest. So I operated my business in that capacity.

MPs Expenses: Constituency Travel – From Lemay to Proulx

MPs report the summary totals of their expenses once a year. You can review the data yourself [PDF] for the most recent year for which information is available – fiscal 2009, also known as the 12-month period ending on March 31, 2009. This is the only document provided by the Board of Internal Economy, the nine-MP committee that meets in secret to supervise the expenditure of more than $500 million a year associated with the operations of the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament.

What I've done is take the Member's Expenditure's Report and dumped the data in that PDF into a spreadsheet so that I can present some comparisons and analysis. This is one of several posts with some of those summaries and analyses.

Member's Office Budget: Travel

“Travel” shows up in two different summaries MPs declare. There is travel provided by the House of Commons that mostly includes the cost of getting an MP back and forth to Ottawa from their riding. And there is this travel category, money coming out of the “Member's Office Budget” that is to be used mostly for the costs of getting around one's constituency but it can also be used by MPs who want to travel throughout the province their riding is in. Member's Office Budgets, by the way, are capped at about $280,000. Members with big ridings or with densely populated ridings get a little extra. Here's what the annual expenditure report says about what's included in this category: “includes travel, accommodation, meal and incidental expenses incurred by the Member and the Member’s employees, designated traveller and/or dependant(s) within the constituency or the province or territory in which the constituency is located. It also includes certain transportation expenses incurred by the Member within the National Capital Region, as well as accommodation, meal and incidental expenses incurred by employees on parliamentary business trips within Canada specifically authorized by the Board of Internal Economy.”

So with that preamble, here's the top 20 biggest-spending MPs in this category:

  1. Marc Lemay (BQ) – Abitibi-Témiscamingue $60,483 (right)
  2. Raynald Blais (BQ) – Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine $50,026
  3. Merv Tweed (CPC) – Brandon-Souris $41,762
  4. Mario Laframboise (BQ) – Argenteuil-Papineau-Mirabel $40,996
  5. Richard Harris (CPC) – Cariboo-Prince George $40,425
  6. Michel Guimond (BQ) – Montmorency-Charlevoix-Haute-Côte-Nord $37,714
  7. Jacques Gourde (CPC) – Lotbinière-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière $37,211
  8. Nathan Cullen (NDP) – Skeena-Bulkley Valley $34,269
  9. Mike Allen (CPC) – Tobique-Mactaquac $32,030
  10. Roger Gaudet (BQ) – Montcalm $29,927
  11. Yvon Lévesque (BQ) – Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou $29,569
  12. Kevin Sorenson (CPC) – Crowfoot $28,977
  13. Jay Hill (CPC) – Prince George-Peace River $28,422
  14. Scott Simms (LPC) – Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls •Windsor $27,410
  15. Jean-Claude D'Amours (LPC) – Madawaska-Restigouche $27,373
  16. Daryl Kramp (CPC) – Prince Edward-Hastings $27,076
  17. Anthony Rota (LPC) – Nipissing-Timiskaming $26,523
  18. Denis Lebel (CPC) – Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean $26,456
  19. Guy Lauzon (CPC) – Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry $25,450
  20. Louis Plamondon (BQ) – Bas-Richelieu-Nicolet-Bécancour $25,425

And here's the bottom 20, starting with the MP who spent the least amount in this category:

  1. Marcel Proulx (LPC) – Hull-Aylmer $0 (right)
  2. Gilles Duceppe (BQ) $21
  3. Gordon O'Connor (CPC) $97
  4. Pablo Rodriguez (LPC) $142
  5. Maria Mourani (CPC) $160
  6. Réal Ménard (BQ) $255
  7. Paul Dewar (NDP) $443
  8. Mike Wallace (CPC) $739
  9. Joy Smith (CPC) $816
  10. Sukh Dhaliwal (LPC) $884
  11. Diane Bourgeois (BQ) $1,074
  12. John Baird (CPC) $1,175
  13. David McGuinty (LPC) $1,244
  14. Richard Nadeau (BQ) $1,269
  15. Mauril Bélanger (LPC) $1,335
  16. Rick Dykstra (CPC) $1,375
  17. Pierre Poilievre (CPC) $1,431
  18. Thierry St-Cyr (BQ) $1,455
  19. Jim Karygiannis (LPC) $1,540
  20. Albina Guarnieri (LPC) $1,643

Because there was a general election in the middle of this fiscal year, not every MP served for the full fiscal year. Among those that did serve the entire 12 months, the average expenditure on MOB-Travel was: $18,504

MPs Expenses: Staff salaries and other expenses: Angus to Harper

MPs report the summary totals of their expenses once a year. You can review the data yourself [PDF] for the most recent year for which information is available – fiscal 2009, also known as the 12-month period ending on March 31, 2009. This is the only document provided by the Board of Internal Economy, the nine-MP committee that meets in secret to supervise the expenditure of more than $500 million a year associated with the operations of the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament.

What I've done take the Member's Expenditure's Report and dumped the data in that PDF into a spreadsheet so that I can present some comparisons and analysis. This is one of several posts with some of those summaries and analyses.

Staff and other expenses:

The annual report notes that this “includes employee salaries, service contracts and constituency office operating expenses such as utilities, telephone service for secondary constituency offices, additional cellular and Personal Digital Assistant (BlackBerry) services in excess of goods and services provided by the House (as well as airtime and data plans), furniture and computer equipment. This item also includes a Miscellaneous Expenditures Account of up to 3% of the Member’s Office Budget for certain hospitality expenses and gifts given for reasons of official protocol.”
Some other notes gleaned from the MP's manual (available only on the Parliamentary intranet and not on the public internet):- MPs cannot claims expenses for gifts with a value greater than $100 or for gift certificates or for gifts to be used for partisan purposes (for example, at a raffle at a party fundraiser)- The maximum salary any one staff member of an MP can earn is about $80,000 a year.
With that preamble, here are the MPs who ranked 1 through 20 as the highest spender in this category for FY2009:

  1. Charlie Angus (NDP) $295,219 (right)
  2. Dennis Bevington (NDP) $288,023
  3. Gerry Byrne (LPC) $287,498
  4. Rob Anders (CPC) $283,643
  5. Bryon Wilfert (LPC) $283,061
  6. Brian Masse (NDP) $281,352
  7. Jim Abbott (CPC) $280,105
  8. Gérard Asselin (BQ) $278,008
  9. Russ Hiebert (CPC) $277,839
  10. Mauril Bélanger (LPC) $274,704
  11. Nathan Cullen (NDP) $274,679
  12. Scott Reid (CPC) $274,660
  13. Jean Crowder (NDP) $274,404
  14. Vic Toews (CPC) $274,391
  15. Jeff Watson (CPC) $273,868
  16. Rick Casson (CPC) $271,604
  17. Barry Devolin (CPC) $271,487
  18. Garry Breitkreuz (CPC) $270,805
  19. Keith Martin (CPC) $270,786

Here are the MPs who spent the least on Staff and Other Expenses:

  1. Stephen Harper (CPC) $148,362 (right)
  2. John Baird (CPC) $168,976
  3. Massimo Pacetti (LPC) $172,540
  4. Colin Mayes (CPC) $176,130
  5. David Anderson (CPC) $178,996
  6. Yvon Godin (NDP) $194,419
  7. Peter Van Loan (CPC) $197,399
  8. André Arthur (IND) $197,804
  9. Josée Verner (CPC) $200,416
  10. Kevin Sorenson (CPC) $200,900
  11. Ed Fast (CPC) $201,365
  12. Christian Paradis (CPC) $201,780
  13. Jacques Gourde (CPC) $201,859
  14. Stéphane Dion (LPC) $202,263
  15. James Moore (CPC) $204,158
  16. Deepak Obhrai (CPC) $204,288
  17. Francis Scarpaleggia (LPC) $205,528
  18. Jean-Claude D'Amours (LPC) $206,194
  19. Jim Prentice (CPC) $207,329
  20. Denis Coderre (LPC) $207,994

Because there was a general election in the middle of this fiscal year, not every MP served for the full fiscal year. Among those that did serve the entire 12 months, the average expenditure on Salary and Other Expenses was: $239,281

Michael Bryant; billion-dollar summits and a horny border guard – Wednesday's A1 headlines and Parliamentary Daybook

Michael Bryant; billion-dollar summits and a horny border guard; Listen to my three-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Wednesday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.

Listen!
You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

North Korea; a junior hockey dynasty; and Chretien's big day:

North Korea; a junior hockey dynasty; and Chretien's big day: Listen to my five-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Tuesday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.

Listen!
You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

Conrad Black; infant mortality and Sunday shopping on the island returns: Saturday's A1 headlines and Parliamentary daybook

Conrad Black; infant mortality, and Sunday shopping on the island: Listen to my five-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Saturday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.

Listen!
You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

The Prime Minister, Taylor Swift, and The Maple Leaf Forever

This just in from the Prime Minister's Office: What we call a “handout pic” from the PM's communications staff. This photo, taken by the Deb Ransom, one of the prime minister's official photographer, was snapped this week at Scotiabank Place near Ottawa just before Taylor Swift took the stage. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his daughter Rachel attended the concert and, before the show, Harper got a backstage visit and presented the book “The Maple Leaf Forever: A Celebration of Canadian Symbols”. On the frontspiece Harper wrote:

“Taylor:

I hope you look back upon your time in Ottawa fondly. Thank you for spending time with my daughter, Rachel, and me.

All the best in the future!

Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
May 20, 2010″

Here's the pic:


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New talking points: The NDP commits transparency on expenses

Canwest News Service has obtained a copy of some talking points being distributed this afternoon to NDP MPs. The talking point memo comes from Leader Jack Layton's office and says:

The issue of MP expenses and the Auditor General has dominated much of the media attention of the past few days. We will have to have a further discussion at our next caucus meeting to see what movement can be made and how we can address this issue most effectively. In the meantime, here are some new Talking Points that indicate some movement and will help us with our constituents and the media over the next few days.

“My expenses are currently audited and posted online. Please take a look and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I’ll gladly explain any of them.”

Although I am fully confident that the process works, I understand that the public would like more information. ·

Based on public feedback I feel confident the Board of Internal Economy (BOIE) will consider further discussion on this issue, reflecting public concerns, to seek a mutually agreeable solution to the auditing of MP expenses.

I am certainly not opposed to having the BOIE continue the dialogue with the Auditor General to improve public scrutiny of MP expenses

The MPs are told to point constituents to the disclosures on the Parliamentary Web site [PDF] which lists summaries of each MP's expenses for 2008-09, the most recent year for which figures are available.

London, Ont.-area NDP MP Irene Mathyssen is already taking the hint from her leader's office. She's posted a collection of links at her Web page with three years worth of her MPs expense — again, all summary data and not receipts or details — as well as disclosure statement to Parliament's ethics commissioner and her electoral campaign return.

Charest's pay cut; Afghanistan exit strategy; and that new rich senator: Friday's A1 headlines and Parliamentary daybook

Charest's pay cut; Afghanistan exit strategy; and that new rich senator: Listen to my five-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Friday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.

Listen!
You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

New securities regulator; chaos in Bangkok and a would-be politician sues for a million: Thursday's A1 headlines and Parliamentary daybook

New securities regulator; chaos in Bangkok and a would-be politician sues for a million: Listen to my five-minute audio roundup of what's on the front pages of the country's newspapers plus highlights from Thursday's Parliamentary daybook by clicking on the link below.

Listen!
You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Lookin the top right corner of the “Boos” box.