Oda spent nearly $17,000 on limo rides in her party's first 15 months in office, according to receipts obtained by the NDP through an access-to-information request.
New Democrat MP Charlie Angus said about half of that amount was never proactively included in publicly disclosed ministerial travel and hospitality expenses.
Oda was shamed into reimbursing the country for somewhat less than half of her Juno rides but it turns out this is a habitual peculiarity of the Minister who was shuffled out of Heritage to International Co-Operation. Oda was also renowned for following in the suspect footsteps of Liberal Sarmite Bulte, taking plenty of cash from CRIA and other media moguls that were trying to buy up some hand picked copyright and media legislation. Back on the shaming front, Oda was forced to cancel a fundraiser featuring all of the entities her ministry was supposed to be regulating. Because on account of transparency and accountability. After her scam got outed to the press. So with the appearance of legislation for sale and the poor optics of her vehicular fetish, there's little surprise Oda get re-situated in cabinet.
As for accountability from the Stephen Harper Party of New Canada, well Oda just hasn't gotten around to, you know, being accountable.
"Now we find out about thousands and thousands of dollars worth of undisclosed secret trips, like $1,300 for a limo ride in Toronto one day when she went to a Conservative meeting ... Where does she live?"
That specific limo ride happened on March 17, when Oda billed $1,291.88 for a drive from her home to a Conservative candidate training session.
Really. Where does Bev Oda live? I can fly to the west coast and back for less than it costs her to be driven to a meeting, including cab fare to the airport.
"I can tell you, as (Government House Leader) Peter Van Loan pointed out in the House of Commons, whether it's legal expenses or minister expenses in general, they are way, way down from what they were before."
However, the Conservative expenses referred to by Van Loan do not include some travel expenses, such as the $5,500 that Oda billed taxpayers for her Juno limo rides -- an amount still not listed on her expense disclosure.
But but but... the Liberals. That tremendously worn excuse for Conservative chicanery that is, none the less, likely sufficient for our pals in BT land. Mind you that herd of parrots would be baffled by the complex machinery of a tweezer. She followed all of the rules, maybe, to within a hair's breadth of illegality and that is the Conservative standard to meet. The Conservative Party of Canada, Barely Legal, hmmm that has kind of a ring to it.
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