Make Clarkson accountable to taxpayers
It’s entirely possible that Adrienne Clarkson, the former TV host who served this country as governor general from 1999 until 2005, is still providing direct value to the government and people of Canada.
Clarkson is an impressive and accomplished Canadian, who served honourably during her time as Her Majesty’s representative in Canada. Though her posting ended some time ago, the knowledge she gained during her time in office, the contacts she made in capitals abroad, and the moral authority she can carry as a Canadian representative should not be underestimated.
But since she has been spending quite a bit of public money providing us with so much ostensible value, the nature of Clarkson’s rather costly activities should at least be explained to the Canadian taxpayers who must fund them. That’s not too much to ask.
As reported by the National Post this week, Clarkson, despite being 13 years out of her post, still routinely bills $100,000 or more a year to taxpayers. These are not pension payments or even contributions to her charitable foundation: the federal government is already providing generously for both, as is traditional with former governors general. These annual billings that have now accumulated to $1.1 million are apparently Clarkson’s office expenses and other costs of maintaining the role of a former governor general, although interestingly no other former governor general has sought fit to bill nearly as much as Clarkson has.
Indeed, the only reason Post reporter Brian Platt was able to spot Clarkson’s outsized expenses is because, by exceeding $100,000 in reimbursements regularly, her spending has its own line item in the Public Accounts of Canada, while the other former G-G’s (who expense less than six figures each) are consolidated together into a group.
Perhaps such spending is entirely justified. But we can’t be certain. Rideau Hall does not disclose what the expenses pertain to specifically, just their grand total. And they are not subject to Canada’s access-to-information laws.
That’s the primary problem here. When Clarkson’s executive assistant told our reporter that it was none of our business what the former governor general was spending so much public money on — this was a “private matter” between Clarkson and Rideau Hall, this assistant averred — that could not have been more mistaken.
This is a matter of basic transparency and accountable governance. The Post’s John Ivison summed it up well this week when he noted that Clarkson, who for a little more than five years represented the Queen, is subject to less financial transparency than the Queen herself. That is patently absurd. This may not rise to the level of scandal for now, but it’s a genuine problem and a mark against efforts at responsible government. It should be fixed at once.