Trudeau's Jamaica vacation 'clearly a generous gift' but not against the rules: ethics commissioner
CTV
Canada's interim ethics commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein confirms that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau consulted his office in advance of his latest Jamaican vacation, and he was within the rules to accept the gifted accommodations from a friend. The top ethics official indicated he considers the matter closed.
Canada's interim ethics commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein has confirmed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau consulted his office in advance of his latest Jamaican vacation, and he was within the rules to accept the gifted accommodations from a friend.
"He consulted us, and we advised him," von Finckenstein told MPs while testifying before the House of Commons ethics committee about the rules around gifts and trips on Tuesday.
He indicated that as far as the ethics office is concerned, the matter is closed.
"If it had not been an acceptable gift, it would have had to be reported on our website… nothing has been reported."
As the Conflict of Interest Act states, office holders have 30 days to disclose gifts valued at $200 or more on a public registry, unless the gift does not require declaration, such as those received from a family member or friend.
During the hearing, questions were raised around the lack of upper limit or cap on acceptable gifts from friends, to which von Finckenstein indicated that, should an MP be gifted something as exceptionally "lavish" as a Ferrari, it would prompt a deeper dive.
"What we have here is clearly a generous gift, but it's between people who are friends, and I don't see why, just because they're well off, they can't exchange gifts and that's what they're doing here."
