NDP MP Niki Ashton charged taxpayers $17,641 for a trip over the Christmas break which she said was to meet “stakeholders” in Quebec —  but included travel with her husband, Bruce Moncur, and their two children. 

Ashton, who often participates in parliamentary proceedings remotely, flew from Thompson, Manitoba to Ottawa on December 21, 2022, which was five days after the House of Commons had adjourned for the holidays.

The family then traveled to Quebec City on Christmas Day, billing expenses to the Commons. 

Social media posts from the trip show the family enjoying local attractions, including skating and visiting the German Christmas Market. 

Ashton defended the expenses, citing meetings with stakeholders about House business, as noted in Commons travel records.

A spokesperson from the NDP stated that Ashton was in Quebec City to discuss language priorities, aligned with her role as the party’s critic for official languages, and claimed additional expenses were due to staying in a hotel while her Ottawa apartment was treated for bed bugs.

“Smells really fishy”

Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Franco Terrazzano criticized the trip, saying it “looks really bad and it smells really fishy.” Terrazzano called for a review of MPs’ travel expenses to ensure accountability.

In another instance, Ashton billed nearly $10,000 for a May 2023 trip to Windsor, Ontario, where Moncur grew up. 

This Windsor trip, which allegedly included meeting with a soccer recreation center about federal funding for Indigenous youth, also involved a visit to Detroit to meet radical Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Talib.

House of Commons rules allow MPs to travel for parliamentary business, with allocated points covering some expenses for designated travelers and dependents. However, the rules stipulate that travel must serve parliamentary functions and not private interests.