HERE WE GO AGAIN What is it with politicians and travel expenses

Posted on 03/03/2016 | About British Columbia

British Columbia premier Christy Clark’s home riding is in Kelowna, so she is expected to accumulate substantial mileage between her constituency office and Vancouver.  The route is serviced by Air Canada and WestJet but Clark is under fire for spending half a million dollars over the past five years for using private planes, and taking a videographer.  

Freelance journalist Bob Mackin exposed Clark’s travel expenses - charged to taxpayers. 

Mackin reported in The Tyee that, “Clark flies most frequently with three or four of her aides, such as assistant Andrew Ives, press secretary Sam Oliphant and videographer Kyle Surovy, plus an RCMP bodyguard, whose name is censored.”

During question period on Tuesday NDP leader John Horgan confronted the premier, “What possible value is there to taxpayers to bring your own camera crew when you're visiting your own constituency?"

Clark’ response was that she travelled to "make sure that I'm staying in touch with the people of the province." 

She added, "My staff work as hard as they can to make sure that we find the most cost-efficient ways to travel."

The premier’s travel expenses are posted online monthly, but do not identify dates, destinations or reasons for travel so Mackin had to file a Freedom of Information request.

Finance minister Mike de Jong said that, "For MLAs, the receipts are there in lots of detail, and that is what we are seeking to achieve for members of the executive branch."

He said that in some cases just booking a seat on a commercial airline wasn’t an option, due to the fact the team needs to travel together.

“It’s not just a matter of acquiring a single ticket,” de Jong said. 

“It is the premier, it is a security representative, a press secretary, and there is a small group that travels with the premier.”

Air Canada and WestJet offer a dozen flights daily between Kelowna and Vancouver.

Horgan had an issue with the premier’s travel expenses being illuminated when earlier last month it was announced that bus passes were going up to $52/month for people with disabilities. In the past, passes were administered for $45/year. That charge will continue in addition to the monthly fee.

The BC government has paired the increase with a monthly benefit of $77 to people with disabilities. Horgan said that they “gave with one hand and took away with the other.”