PMclears trip with ethics watchdog, officials say
But few details released about Florida vacation
OTTAWA• Justin Trudeau’ s office is again sharing few details about his vacation this week, though questions about how the prime minister spends his private time have caused problems for the Liberal government.
On Thursday, officials in the Prime Minister’s Office would say only that Trudeau is “spending private time with his family in Florida,” but would not elaborate on what he’s doing or with whom.
“When they are having private time, that’s as far as we go,” said spokesman Cameron Ahmad. “I know it’s different when he’s out of the country, but it is similar to him spending private time with his family on a weekend. We don’t delve into the details of what he’s doing, where he’s going or who he’s with.”
However, Trudeau’s office made clear that unlike in the past, this time Trudeau cleared his trip in advance with the parliamentary ethics commissioner.
The prime minster’s previous vacations ran him afoul of conflict of interest rules.
In December 2016, he brought family and friends on an all- expenses- paid trip to a private island in the Bahamas owned by the Aga Khan, whom he has repeatedly described as a “close family friend.” The island could only be accessed via private helicopter. Trudeau’s wife Sophie arranged the trip with the Aga Khan’s daughter, as well as another vacation earlier in 2016 that saw Sophie visit the island without the prime minister.
After a long investigation, then ethics commissioner Mary Dawson found last December that Trudeau had violated four sections of the Conflict of Interest Act rules by accepting the “gifts” of the accommodations and the use of the helicopter, becoming the first prime minister to be found in violation of the act. Dawson also ruled that the religious leader might not be a “friend” after all, and concluded the provision of the trips could be seen as attempts to influence Trudeau, since the Aga Khan Foundation was receiving millions in federal funding.
Trudeau apologized and said, “in the future I will be clearing all my family vacations with the commissioner’s office.”
According to Trudeau press secretary Eleanore Catenaro, that did happen in this case. A spokeswoman for new ethics commissioner Mario Dion couldn’t confirm it, saying “any of our dealings with public office holders have to remain confidential.”
As for Trudeau’s current whereabouts, though U.S. President Donald Trump called Trudeau a “very good guy” on Twitter Thursday, he apparently stopped short of extending the prime minister his hospitality. Ahmad did confirm that Trudeau is not staying at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — and “he’s not planning on being there.”