The Canadian Press
Joan Bryden
OTTAWA—Justin Trudeau has vetoed an out-of-court settlement in the long-running dispute over the NDP’s allegedly improper use of parliamentary resources for partisan purposes, The Canadian Press has learned.
Multiple sources, not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, say a proposed deal almost was sealed but was nixed by the prime minister, who didn’t want to condone what he sees as an abuse of taxpayers’ money.
Sixty-eight former and current New Democrat MPs were ruled two years ago to have improperly-used $2.75 million from their parliamentary office budgets to pay the salaries of staff working in satellite party offices in Montreal, Quebec City, and Toronto.
The board of internal economy—the secretive, multi-party body that polices House of Commons spending—ordered the MPs to reimburse the money.
But the New Democrats, maintaining they were victims of a partisan gang-up by Conservatives and Liberals on the board, launched a court challenge and the matter remained unresolved through last fall’s election.
After the election, both the victorious Liberals, who now hold a majority of seats on the reconstituted board, and the much-diminished NDP initially seemed willing to settle the matter out of court.
Rather than seek reimbursement from the 68 individuals, the majority of whom lost their incomes when they were defeated in the election, sources say a settlement was proposed that would have seen the NDP accept a reduction in its annual parliamentary research budget.
That reduction would have amounted to a reimbursement of less than half the $2.75 million.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to explain why Trudeau put the kibosh on the deal, referring questions to government House leader Dominic LeBlanc, the Liberals’ lead member on the board of internal economy.
In an e-mailed statement, LeBlanc suggested Trudeau had nothing to do with it, although multiple sources have confirmed the prime minister put an end to negotiations.
He further suggested the Liberals never contemplated settling the matter out of court.
“It is the NDP who decided to begin frivolous judicial proceedings and subsequently asked for settlement negotiations,” LeBlanc noted.
“We have always been of the view that the NDP misused public funds and should therefore reimburse taxpayers.”
The matter now will have to be resolved in Federal Court, where the NDP’s suit to overturn the board’s ruling has been languishing for almost two years.
