(Ottawa) Federal Conservatives are calling on the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to investigate Justin Trudeau’s vacation with friends in Jamaica and how the Prime Minister’s Office handled the fact that he was hosted for free.
MP Michael Barrett, Conservative ethics critic, asked Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein in writing on Tuesday if he knew that Mr. Trudeau had stayed at a luxury estate owned by a family friend.
The Canadian Press has not independently verified an article in the National Post according to which Mr. Trudeau spent his vacations in a luxurious estate in Jamaica where villas rented for thousands of dollars per night during the holiday season.
Mr. Barrett describes this stay as a gift with commercial value.
Before the vacation, the Prime Minister’s office made a point of emphasizing that Mr. Trudeau would cover the costs of this 10-day trip to Jamaica.
But just before the prime minister’s return, his office clarified that he had reimbursed the equivalent of plane tickets on a commercial flight, but that the Trudeaus were staying for free with family friends. The cabinet specified that before leaving, the Prime Minister had consulted the Ethics Commissioner on the details of this trip.
A spokeswoman for Mr. von Finckenstein would not say last week what details the prime minister’s office had provided to his office.
However, he recalled that the Conflict of interest law allowed a public office holder to accept “a gift or other advantage” from a relative or friend without having to declare it publicly.