PM under pressure

Trudeau urged to outline directives, actions on ministerial spending

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under political pressure to outline specific measures to control spending, now that two of his cabinet ministers are under the microscope.

The ethics commissioner is looking into Health Minister Jane Philpott’s repeated use of a high-end car service owned by a Liberal supporter who canvassed for her during the last federal election.

And Environment Minister Catherine McKenna has asked her department to review its expenses after it was revealed $6,600 was spent documenting the COP21 climate change conference in Paris.

NDP MPs Alexandre Boulerice and Charlie Angus are calling on Trudeau to outline the measures he’s put in place in response to what they call “a pattern of questionable expenses.”

They say the spending appears to breach the standards for ministerial conduct outlined in the prime minister’s mandate letters, including a commitment to “the utmost care” and prudence in handling public funds.

Trudeau says the government will look for “new and more robust ways” of disclosing the use of public dollars but the Prime Minister’s Office has yet to outline specific steps.

CP PHOTO Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the media at the Liberal cabinet retreat in Sudbury, Ont., on Monday. With two of his cabinet ministers in the news over their expense claims, Trudeau is under increasing pressure to outline how he plans to control spending.