Stephen Taylor – a blog on Canadian politics » Daniel Hurley billed taxpayers for past election-related expenses

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September 23, 2008

Daniel Hurley billed taxpayers for past election-related expenses

Daniel Hurley is the candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in Winnipeg Centre.

From Hurley’s biography,

Dan Hurley also has extensive parliamentary and government experience, previously serving as chief of staff to the Hon. Stephane Dion, while he was Canada’s Environment Minister and as President of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. During that time, Dan used his organizational and diplomatic skills to support Stephane Dion’s efforts to bring the Kyoto Protocol into force and to move the international community forward on climate change.

During the last election, Hurley as Dion’s chief of staff, expensed a trip to Edmonton that he took with the now current Liberal leader. The problem is that he went on this trip during an election, he billed it to the taxpayer and listed the purpose of the trip as “travel with Minister for electoral campaign”.

The expenses are listed on Environment Canada’s proactive disclosure website:

Hurley billed $1,161 for flights, $219.20 for accommodations and $166.60 for meals and incidentals for a total of $1,547.56 to travel with Dion during the past federal election between December 15-17, 2005.

The Edmonton Journal states,

“Stephane Dion, the federal environment minister, spent a long Friday in Edmonton beating the drum for local Liberal candidates.” (December 17, 2005)

According to section 6.1.3 of Treasury Board Guidelines for Minister’s Offices,

Expenditures incurred by the chief of staff should be authorized by the minister or the minister’s senior delegate for financial matters.

So, this raises a few questions for Stephane Dion:

Since Dion personally signed off on Hurley’s expenses for accompanying him during an election campaign for “travel with Minister for electoral campaign”, does Mr. Dion think that it’s acceptable for the taxpayer to foot the bill for Liberal election-related expenses?

Will Dion, Hurley or the Liberal Party of Canada refund the Canadian taxpayer $1547.56 with interest?

Will Hurley be asked to step down as the Liberal candidate in Winnipeg Centre?

We’ve seen taxpayer dollars going to fund Liberal campaigns before, is this more of the same from the Liberal Party?

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS: Of course, staff are allowed to accompany a minister for ministry-related business and file expenses — even during an election campaign — so long as they are doing government work. However, we must take Daniel Hurley’s disclosure at face value when he states that he traveled with Dion “for electoral campaign“. Hurley either made a terrible mistake by filing expenses to the taxpayer for an election campaign or he improperly worded his expense form.

This entry was authored by Stephen Taylor at 03:54 PM | Tweet this | Comments (29)

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Beer and Popcorn

This candidate needs to step down immediately – this appears to be a very serious misstep.

Also – Dion should repay this amount with interest – ahem – maybe let's just tack it on to the amount outstanding for the Leadership convention from many years ago.

Perhaps this straw will be the one that breaks the camel's back and gets the lights and heat shut off at LPC HQ..
MississaugaPeter

WTF?

The Conservative backyard is so full of manure. Instead of cleaning up their own backyard first, they continue seeking to find other's shit, no matter how small it may be.

First apologize and then make amends for the “In and Out” scandal. Then you may have the morale high ground to make mountains out of mole hills.
http://djxtreme-seashell.blogspot.com/ Sean McAllister

Stephen, again you shine the light on the dark goings on in the Liberal mentality. When are they going to learn that our tax dollars are not theirs to use any way that suits them?
AtlanticJim

But aren't they entitled to their entitlements?
bud

SAme old story. You can never find Elections Canada when the Liberals are involved.
sir john a.

Good catch, Stephen.

Probably just an absent-minded mistake by Dion's aid, but a mistake nonetheless that should be addressed by the leader.
Robert Wood

You ask rhetorically: “does Mr. Dion think that it’s acceptable for the taxpayer to foot the bill for Liberal election campaign expenses?”

Come on Stephen, don't be naive. This is Liber Standard Operating Procedure.
John

Its acceptable to question this, in the same way that it is acceptable for Canadians to question why ten percenters were sent to Vancouver-Kingsway during an election. They cost about the same.
bob

Any relation to David ‘adscam’ Hurley turned CBC insider election blogger, Stephen?
bob

Any relation to David ‘adscam’ Hurley turned CBC insider election blogger, Stephen?
anon

Watched both The National with Mansbridge and just moments ago CTV News with Robertson — two sources Canadians should have expectations to trust. But that's not to be, of course. Nothing mentioned related to the piece you posted, no bad news for the Liberals campaign today… or on any day in much of this campaign. Nothing on that Quebec Liberal and his comments about Oka, nothing about Turner's “deathwatch” against his Tory rival, nothing about Finch's extremist comments, nothing about Fullard's Hitler-Harper comparison, and nothing about Hurley.

Nothing but “Tories under fire” and “Tories under attack” tonight, as it relates to the Tory's as “culture killers”. Nothing about tyour piece, Stephen. Nothing at all about Dion tonight on The National. Nothing about the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation adding up the numbers in the Liberal Platform and concluding that Dion is full of crap! No bad news at all. And CTV, after a lengthy attack piece on the Tories (watch “reporter” Beauchemin's piece.. it's a thing of beauty), only a blurb about Dion — a short piece showing him flexing his muscles as the strong leader that they're trying to make him about to be recently.

I guess when the MSM doesn't actually report Liberal gaffes, stumbles and controversies, they can say they don't actually exist and have never occurred.

No need to analyze the polls to know that the Liberals are in deep sh… trouble. The MSM is the barometer to see how far the Liberals have dropped.
Al W

MississaugaPeter…

This so called In & Out scandal will be proven in court that the rules were followed….However we are still waiting for Elections Canada to tell us which 12 PQ Ridings received Adscam taxpayers dollars in brown paper bags. Which MPs were elected using stolen taxpayers dollars? This is part of the $40 Million taxpayers dollars that the Liberals stole that is still missing. What does Dion know about this?

This is still part of a ongoing RCMP investigation….and soon the proverbial sh*t will hit the fan….and the Liberals will be toast for decades!
http://www.stephentaylor.ca stephentaylor

Rhetoric is not naïve.
Soccermom

WELL, Stephane did have a lot of time on his hands to do a bit of travelling. Being the Environment Minister and all, and NOT GETTING IT DONE. He had nothing better to do.
East of Eden

Uh, that would be MORAL high ground, not MORALE high ground. We CPCers are lacking neither high MORALE nor MORAL high ground.
East of Eden

Oh, and I forgot – whatever the case re: the In and Out issue, we did not bill taxpayers for it. The contributions were voluntary. Claiming expenses is billing taxpayers unwillingly. There is a difference.
East of Eden

Excellent. I was just thinking of good old Dingwall.
East of Eden

Sorry, buddy, but it isn't something done absent-mindedly. There is a process and somewhere along the line it would have been caught. Somebody had to vet it and that person would know the rules. Not a mistake although it could seem like one.
East of Eden

All MPs have the option to send 10 percenters at taxpayers' expense. As I understand it, these were not sent out after the writ was dropped. They may have hit the mail seconds before the writ was dropped but not after the writ was dropped. Personally, I think this option should be removed but until such policy is changed, every MP has the option.
Beer and Popcorn

The Liberal media alliance is doing as a cornered rat would do – come out fighting.
Stan Donguard

Has anyone complained to Elections Canada? Notified the media? Let's make some noise!
Soccermom

WELL, Stephane did have a lot of time on his hands to do a bit of travelling. Being the Environment Minister and all, and NOT GETTING IT DONE. He had nothing better to do.
East of Eden

Uh, that would be MORAL high ground, not MORALE high ground. We CPCers are lacking neither high MORALE nor MORAL high ground.
East of Eden

Oh, and I forgot – whatever the case re: the In and Out issue, we did not bill taxpayers for it. The contributions were voluntary. Claiming expenses is billing taxpayers unwillingly. There is a difference.
East of Eden

Excellent. I was just thinking of good old Dingwall.
East of Eden

Sorry, buddy, but it isn't something done absent-mindedly. There is a process and somewhere along the line it would have been caught. Somebody had to vet it and that person would know the rules. Not a mistake although it could seem like one.
East of Eden

All MPs have the option to send 10 percenters at taxpayers' expense. As I understand it, these were not sent out after the writ was dropped. They may have hit the mail seconds before the writ was dropped but not after the writ was dropped. Personally, I think this option should be removed but until such policy is changed, every MP has the option.
Beer and Popcorn

The Liberal media alliance is doing as a cornered rat would do – come out fighting.
Stan Donguard

Has anyone complained to Elections Canada? Notified the media? Let's make some noise!