Wilson-Raybould claimed $125K in spousal travel expenses during Trudeau mandate

By Amanda Connolly

Canadians have paid more than $125,000 over the last four years flying the spouse of former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould back and forth across the country under the government’s designated traveller program.

A Global News probe of MP expenditures and claims through the program revealed Wilson-Raybould claimed more than any of her former cabinet colleagues — and was the only non-Conservative MP among the top six highest claimants under the program, who all claimed above $100,000 in spousal travel expenses.

Taxpayers covered the cost of 138 individual flights for her husband between her Vancouver-Granville riding and Ottawa, as well as other Canadian cities, since the Liberals won power in the 2015 federal election: 18 flights in 2015-2016, 45 in 2016-2017, 39 in 2017-2018 and 36 in 2018-2019.

In all, her claims for spousal travel cost taxpayers $125,755, ranging from flights costing less than $1,000 to those clocking in at more than $3,000.

In comparison, the entire 34-member federal cabinet — not including Wilson-Raybould — claimed $421,504 in designated traveller expenses for their spouses over the course of the mandate.

On average, that breaks down to $12,397 in claims per cabinet member.

If Wilson-Raybould’s claims for her husband are added to the cabinet total, it lands in at $547,259.

That means Wilson-Raybould’s claims amounted to 23 per cent of the entire cabinet total over the four fiscal years of the Trudeau government.

Global News requested an interview with Wilson-Raybould to ask why her claims were so much higher than her cabinet colleagues, including those from the same geographic area in Metro Vancouver.

full story at https://globalnews.ca/news/5876317/jody-wilson-raybould-cabinet-travel-expenses/