Liberal member of Parliament Steven MacKinnon speaks to media after being sworn in as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The new government House Leader is defending Justin Trudeau’s free stay at a Jamaican resort, saying that the Prime Minister followed the rules in accepting the benefit.
Steven MacKinnon spoke to the issue on Monday after he was sworn in at Rideau Hall, replacing Karina Gould, who has gone on maternity leave.
“The Prime Minister has acted transparently and in respect of all of the rules,” Mr. MacKinnon told journalists when pressed. “I think that everything was followed to the letter.”
He noted that Mr. Trudeau consulted the Ethics Commissioner and had his travel plans preapproved.
Mr. MacKinnon added that most people believe Mr. Trudeau deserves a break from his duties. “I don’t think that many Canadians would want to take away the Prime Minister’s opportunity to have vacation with his family at Christmas,” he said.
Margot Booth, communications manager for the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, said Monday that she could confirm the office was consulted on the travel plans.
However, she said in a statement that she could not answer specific questions about the file owing to confidentiality.
She said the office does not approve vacations but ensures that gift provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons are followed.
Writing generally, she said there is an exception under the act that allows public office holders to accept gifts or other advantages given by a relative or friend and such gifts do not require public disclosure.
And she noted the act prohibits all public office holders from exercising an official power, duty or function that provides an opportunity to further the private interests of their relatives or friends.
On Monday, Mr. Trudeau spoke at an event in Richmond Hill, Ont., to mark the downing by Iranian military four years ago of a Ukraine International Airlines flight, in which 176 people were killed, including dozens of Canadians.
However, he was not available for media questions.
In late December, the Prime Minister’s Office announced Mr. Trudeau would cover the cost of a stay in Jamaica, from Boxing Day to Jan. 4, with Sophie Grégoire, from whom he is separated, and their three children.
But shortly before they returned to Canada, Mr. Trudeau’s office said they were staying “at no cost” at a location owned by family friends, which turned out to be a luxury resort.
The National Post reported that the Trudeaus stayed in a private compound at a beach resort, which costs more than $9,300 a night.
In a statement on Monday, Mohammad Hussain, a press secretary for the Prime Minister, said that Mr. Trudeau continues to reimburse the cost equivalent to a commercial airline ticket for his personal travel and that of his family. The Prime Minister does not travel on commercial aircraft for security reasons.
Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett said, in a statement on Monday, that Mr. Trudeau had taken a free vacation when many Canadians have had to cut back or cancel plans because of policies of Mr. Trudeau’s government affecting the cost of living.
Pollster Nik Nanos, when asked about the political impact of the situation, noted that the Liberals are trailing the Conservatives by double digits in public-opinion polling.
“This likely does not further move the numbers but reinforces opinions of Trudeau already in the public domain,” Mr. Nanos, chief data scientist for Nanos Research, said in a statement.
The Prime Minister’s vacations have been subject to scrutiny in the past.
Then-ethics commissioner Mary Dawson ruled that Mr. Trudeau’s 2016 Christmas vacation on the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas broke the law prohibiting ministers from accepting gifts or “advantages” that could be perceived as trying to influence government business.