Payette exit package sparks uproar

O’toole, Singh want details of benefits

OTTAWA • The Conservatives and New democrats demanded more details from the prime minister Monday on whether he guaranteed former governor general Julie Payette would receive the customary benefits afforded to those who’ve left the post.

Payette resigned last week ahead of the release of a report concluding she oversaw a highly toxic work environment at rideau Hall.

Former governors general are entitled to a pension and also get a regular income paid to them for the rest of their lives, and O’toole demanded to know Monday whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had raised that subject with Payette when they last spoke.

Trudeau’s decision to choose Payette, and how he managed the issues raised with her work in the years since, have sullied the office and Trudeau must be clear on the terms of her departure, he said.

If she’s getting any perks, she shouldn’t, O’toole suggested.

“It’s not appropriate in a case where there’s a break in the assignment of the Governor General,” O’toole said Monday at a news conference ahead of the return of Parliament.

The terms laying out what governors general receive upon their departure are in law, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he’d be open to amendments if that’s what is needed.

“I think that we should not be rewarding that type of behaviour when someone resigns in light of a report like that,” he said.

Both Singh and O’toole said Trudeau must also consult with the opposition as he moves forward on Payette’s replacement.

O’toole said given the minority Liberal government could fall at any time, Trudeau is in a conflict of interest when it comes to picking the next Governor General.

“This is a small constitutional crisis caused by Mr. Trudeau’s (office),” O’toole said.

“He must consult the other parties to show Canadians that there’s an assurance that there’s no politicization of this important role.”

But Singh also called the issue a distraction of Trudeau’s own making from what MPS really need to be focused on: the ongoing disaster wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parliament resumed Monday after a lengthy winter break that saw the country plunge deeper into the COVID-19 pandemic even as vaccines began to roll out.

To do so, Parliament will continue to sit in a hybrid format, all parties have now agreed, that allows MPS to either appear in person or virtually to debate and pass legislation.

They’ll also be testing a new mobile application that would allow them to vote remotely using their mobile devices.