PMO staff charged taxpayers more than $220K

[dontrump]

and the bailout was from harpers right hand man

who cares? it was tax money stolen by *removed* Duffy and repaid with tax paid private funds

[sooperphreek]

who cares? it was tax money stolen by *removed* Duffy and repaid with tax paid private funds

the voters did. they couldnt buy the lie that a control freak like harper didnt know what happened in his own office by his own right hand man. when the *bleep* hit the fan and the PR disaster happened harper took no questions and threw out a narrative of plausible deniability and hid in his closet.

thats where the liberals are smart. they own the *bleep* up right away and move on. they saw how blown out of proportion and big something to do with money can become.

[alfred2]

What a bunch of crap, harper did not hid in the closet over duffy, your imagination is working over time or is it just the ndp way.

[Glacier]

*removed*
Political memes belong here viewtopic.php?f=28&t=68883

[sooperphreek]

TaxPayers.jpg

all within the rules that your elected politicians have created. nothing to see here folks.

if you want to be indignant about things like this there should be an uproar against the pension slush funds that kenney and harper will enjoy now that they are not MPs anymore. but unlike the liberal guy these 2 clowns wont give any money back.

[Rwede]

all within the rules that your elected politicians have created. nothing to see here folks.

if you want to be indignant about things like this there should be an uproar against the pension slush funds that kenney and harper will enjoy now that they are not MPs anymore. but unlike the liberal guy these 2 clowns wont give any money back.

Harper downgraded his own pension to the tune of $2 million out of his own pocket.

You probably shouldn't have brought that up.

http://o.canada.com/news/national/harpe ... wn-pension

[sooperphreek]

downgraded brownsmaded. if harper and kenny want to be the party of principles then in principle they should walk away from it all. and if downgrading is OK - then these liberal workers downgraded their entitlements and paid back a portion of something thet they are entitled to within the rules of the land. and as such there is nothing to discuss.

[Barney Google]

Huffington Post:
When Will The Liberals Realize Perception Is Everything In Politics?

"...Arrogance and entitlement have always been the downfall of the Liberals, whether it was Justin's father giving the "Salmon Arm" salute to voters or David Dingwall's expensing a package of gum, they have left a lasting impression with voters. Now it is quite true that when voters get fed up with the Conservatives they can overlook this Liberal failing -- but it doesn't take much to remind them about what they don't like about Liberals...."

"...What was Trudeau thinking when he suggested to his top two staffers in their letter of employment that they could access this relocation program in its entirety? Did he not stop and think this through; did he not pause and wonder what "regular" Canadians might think? Did he just rubber stamp a letter offered to him by a staffer to sign? Clearly someone wasn't thinking (especially his two top aides).

Now I am not saying that Telford and Butts didn't follow the rules. All the evidence says that they did. Following the rules is the song they all sing when it blows up in their face. Bev Oda's $16 orange juice was within the guidelines, but that didn't matter to voters. Nor does the fact that Telford and Butts followed the guidelines matter -- what matters is the perception of what the voters interpret as going on. If the voters feel it is inappropriate, then in their mind it is and they don't give a damn if you followed the rules or if it was within the guidelines or not.
..."

"...The median family income in Canada is $76,000, median salary around $50,000. Voters look at Butts claiming in expenses close to the yearly income of two entire families, or 2.5 workers' salaries just for a move to accept a high paying job in Ottawa. These are the same families that would have to shoulder all moving costs on their own. Telford charged more than an entire family's year income as well. Do you think staff charging over $207,000 to move the short distance from Toronto to Ottawa impressed Canadian voters? What does this say about Trudeau's promise to do things differently?

If perception in politics as Keith Davies maintained was everything, so far we have seen:
•A media blow up over Trudeau trying to charge his two nannies salaries to his office budget
•Sophie wanting extra staff to support her work
•Ministers trying to pretend that they didn't use limousines
•Extravagant moving expenses charges

The old Liberal narrative is being refreshed in the voters mind and once again "they are entitled to their entitlements" rings true. It is time for them to come out of their ivory tower and time for them to start asking the "what if" questions and give voters a break -- if they don't voters can even the score at election time...."

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/keith-bear ... in-trudeau

[sooperphreek]

im ok with this new liberal narrative. i got tired of the old conservative one. in 9 more years the conservatives might have another crack at it. then they can create their own narratives again.

[sooperphreek]

i hope rona doesnt bring up the staffers expenses any time soon. might be embarrassing...

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/09/30/rona-ambrose-stornoway-residence-charges-expense_n_12263618.html?ncid=fcbklnkcahpmg00000001

[alfred2]

What is embarrassing is the ndp, and lib. spending

[hobbyguy]

This whole story points to the "loosey goosey" way that government expenses for MPs and their staffers are handled.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/opposition-leader-ambrose-expensed-4000-to-break-lease-with-move-to-stornoway/article32162293/

"Receipts are also not required when a personalized cash payout is provided from unused funds in each employee’s “personal allowance envelope” – "

"The Privy Council Office also says receipts are not required for all types of expenses claims that are part of the personalized cash payout."

Huh? That's like saying to employees "you get an expense allowance of $1,000 per month - go ahead and spend it any way you want". Gee, do you think all that money would get used for legit business expenses??

Only in the case of government, this has been going on forever (back to Duffy, Oda et al and beyond to NDP party office expenses etc.) and on a much grander scale an NOBODY in government ever seems to change it. Worse yet, when "the bosses" handle expenses that way, what kind of example does that set for the employees (the bureaucracy)??? This is the tip of a very big iceberg!

Time to write to our local MPs again...

Edited to add: sent local MP an email. Please take the time to do the same. Government expense policies just have to be tightened up.