Mulcair Answers Committee about Misuse of Taxpayer Dollars

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Leader of the Opposition and the NDP, Thomas Mulcair, faced some intense questions over the dispute about whether House of Commons staffers, who are paid by tax dollars, worked from a Montreal office. Addressing the Procedure and House Affairs committee on Thursday, Mulcair defended the actions of his party and insisted that the NDP did not break any rules when it hired parliamentary staffers to work alongside those doing party work at the Montreal office.

Mulcair stated that that “every step of the way we’ve been open and transparent with the House of Commons, we’ve been open and transparent with this committee. We’ve respected the rules.” He alleged that it wasn’t until April that the rules underwent a “substantive change,” which no longer permit parliamentary staffers to work in a space controlled by a political party. The Opposition leader announce to have handed over documents to the committee which provide proof that the office was paid for by party funds. He said that “not a single cent of taxpayer money was used for renting those offices.”

The Liberals and the Conservatives have grilled the NDP and accused it for breaking the rules when it hired staff to work in Mulcair’s satellite offices. Whereas, Mulcair insists that the party did nothing wrong, as he claims that “we are the only political party in parliament that is unionized.” He highlighted that the collective agreements clearly outline the work of each group and “It gives me the advantage to say that I know the two have always been separated.”