Three Peel Region Progressive Conservative MPPs have charged Ontario taxpayers nearly $50,000 between them to stay in Toronto hotel rooms, despite living within driving distance of Queen’s Park — expenses that the premier’s office said will partially be paid back.
The trio — two cabinet ministers and a parliamentary assistant in the Ford government — represent ridings in Brampton and Mississauga, but filed 30 expense claims over the past two years asking the legislature to refund the costs of special accommodations in Toronto.
While those expenses are typically reserved for emergency situations, such as snowstorms, the GTA-area MPPs were routinely asking taxpayers to pick up the tab, a practice slammed by the opposition as egregious and out of touch.
“This is about the exception, not the norm. And what you’re seeing here is someone treating the exception as the norm,” Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said.
While the premier’s office defended the spending, it also indicated that some of the costs would be paid back by the MPPs.
“The Legislature is responsible for approving MPP expense in accordance with the Legislative Guide to Members’ Expenses,” the Premier’s Office said in a statement.
“Any expenses incurred that did not meet the intent of the rules will be reimbursed to the Legislature in full.”
905-area MPPs
The expenses were claimed by Charmaine Williams, the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, Hardeep Grewal, the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation and Nina Tangri, the Associate Minister of Small Business.
Grewal had the highest tab of any MPP at $19,827.73, followed by Williams, who charged the taxpayer $16,151.70 for hotels. Tangri ran up a bill of $13,568.12.
Williams’ constituency office is in Brampton, 45 kilometres from Queen’s Park along the Gardiner Expressway and Highway 427, while Grewal’s is 43 kilometres away. Tangri’s office is located in Mississauga, 36 kilometres from the legislature.
While the expenses were eventually approved, critics of the Ford government are raising questions about why the MPPs chose to book a hotel room over returning home and charging taxpayers for the privilege.
“I’d like to know why Doug Ford’s ministers think it’s acceptable to live the sweet life on the taxpayer dime,” said NDP Leader Marit Stiles.
Williams, Grewal and Tangri are not alone.
Tourism Minister Stan Cho racked up more than $16,000 in hotel stays in Toronto between 2023 and 2026.
While Cho initially promised to pay back a portion of those expenses which didn’t meet the “spirit” of the expense policy, he quickly announced he would repay the entire amount after major backlash over the cost to the public.
A pattern emerges
Expense rules in Ontario allow MPPs who live within 50 kilometres of Queen’s Park to bill taxpayers for accommodation costs in special circumstances such as a major snowstorm that might paralyze traffic and transit.
In each instance, the MPPs submitted receipts claiming they had a “special circumstance” that required a stay in a downtown Toronto hotel.
Further analysis of expense reports, however, reveals another pattern.
Most of the hotel expenses occur during the spring and fall of each year, suggesting the MPPs are routinely using hotels when the Ontario legislature is in session.
The practice of Toronto-area MPPs booking special circumstance hotels also appears to be exclusive to Progressive Conservative MPPs.
GTA-area NDP and Liberal MPPs haven’t filed similar expenses, while other Ford government cabinet ministers have also avoided billing taxpayers for a special-circumstance hotel.
Based on reporting by Global News.