Liberals have plan to put more detailed member of Parliament expenses online

OTTAWA – The details of where Liberal MPs travelled, how much they spent on a special lunch or dinner, or how much they doled out for a gift are to be posted online by next month.

Liberal House leader Dominic LeBlanc says the caucus is through waiting for the NDP and the Conservatives to take action on the issue of spending transparency.

Any travel and hospitality expenses incurred by Liberal MPs from Sept. 16 forward will be posted in a quarterly report on the party website, beginning with a short one in October.

The Liberals are drawing on the same system of disclosure used by government ministers and senior staff for posting their expenses for department business.

Unlike ministers and staff, the receipts and more precise details of Liberal MPs’ expenses cannot be obtained through access-to-information legislation.

LeBlanc says his party isn’t ruling out going further, if the other parties want to move the transparency bar even higher.