EX-GG DAVID JOHNSTON FULFILS PLEDGE OVER EXPENSES.
OTTAWA • In an unprecedented move, former governor general David Johnston has released a report showing how he has used public funding to support his work since leaving Rideau Hall last year.
Johnston’s report does not capture a full year’s spending, instead covering the six months from when he left office on Oct. 2, 2017, to the end of the government’s fiscal year on March 31, 2018. During that time, Johnston billed $76,650.26, though the report says nearly half of that was in one-time transition and start-up costs as he set up his office.
The Former Governors General Program, through which the public pays to support the work of former holders of the vice-regal office in perpetuity after they leave Rideau Hall, has offered little transparency since its creation in 1979.
Johnston’s report marks the first time the public has seen any breakdown about how the funding is spent, save for the occasional appearance of a lump sum in the government’s public accounts. So far, no other former governor general has committed to releasing their expense claims.
Controversy over the expenses program began three weeks ago when the National Post reported that former governor general Adrienne Clarkson was still billing more than $100,000 per year, a partial figure that was only visible due to accounting rules that required it be published in the public accounts. Clarkson has declined repeated requests for comment, and to answer any questions about how the money was spent each year.
Sources later told the National Post that Clarkson has actually expensed around $200,000 in many years since she left office in 2005, and has strongly resisted the idea of disclosing her expenses when the subject has come up at Rideau Hall.
“I have been grateful for the administrative assistance provided through the Former Governors General Program and pledge to be careful in its use and meticulous in its public accounting,” Johnston said in the report, published Tuesday.
“Accountability and transparency in expenditure of public funds are important elements in our public institutions and I will follow the practice of filing this report annually and answer any questions that are raised as completely as I can.”
His report does not break expenses down line-by-line, but instead groups them into general categories for which it provides some additional explanation. The bulk of the money Johnston has claimed was $54,463.64 in office support, largely on “the costs of an Executive Assistant for correspondence, scheduling, accounting, speeches, publications and events,” the report says.
He billed $13,911.87 for travel, accommodation and meals, and $8,274.75 for “office supplies and miscellaneous.”
The report details some of the work Johnston has used the program to support, such as the publication of three books (royalties from which are given to charity), work on mental health with veterans and military families, and scholarship programs focused on international student mobility.
Johnston says he has stayed involved with many organizations he served as vice-regal patron, such as the Trans-Canada Trail, Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Indspire, and delivered more than 20 speeches. He also serves as volunteer chair of his charitable organization, the Rideau Hall Foundation.
In the report, Johnston says it was an “immense privilege” to serve as governor general. “It is a vocation I have tried to continue post-mandate to the best of my abilities and in keeping with the vice-regal focus on connecting, honouring and inspiring Canadians,” he says.
The day after the Post first reported on Clarkson’s expenses, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the program should be reviewed to ensure it meets public expectations of “transparency and accountability.” In a statement on Tuesday, Rideau Hall says it welcomes the review and “will continue to collaborate with the government and all former governors general to ensure the best way forward.”
Johnston first pledged to release his expenses two weeks ago, The Canadian Press reported. The Post has asked the offices of the other living former governors general whether they would also release expense reports, but none has yet answered.
The office of Michaëlle Jean, governor general from 2005 to 2010, will only refer questions about the program to Rideau Hall. The offices of Clarkson, who served from 1999 to 2005, and Ed Schreyer, who served from 1979 to 1984, have not responded to multiple requests for comment.
The expenses program for former governors general is in addition to their pensions, which last year was $143,814 apiece. It is also on top of the endowment the government pays to establish charitable foundations for former governors general, which can be up to $10 million each.