An apologetic Darrell Dexter said yesterday he will overhaul the MLA expense system to regain public trust in the legislature and his government.
The premier was vacationing in Arizona last week when auditor general Jacques Lapointe’s report on misuse of public money was released.
Returning to work yesterday, Dexter announced his plan to abolish the Internal Economy Board, the group of MLAs who meet in secret and designed the expense rules slammed by the auditor general as being “so ambiguous and so poor” that they enable misuse.
“It’s easy, I think, for people to say sorry. I’m sorry. I regret these things. The real question is what action are you going to take,” he said.
Dexter vowed to have legislation ready by this spring to replace the IEB with an open commission that works in public.
MLAs can expense as much as $48,434 every year without showing any receipts. Dexter deferred to an upcoming review of expenses when asked if MLAs should be forced to always show receipts.
Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil echoed the call for reform and said his party wants all MLA expenses to be posted online to allow public scrutiny.
Dexter said he regrets being caught up in the report himself and said he understands why he’s become “a lightning rod” on the issue.
His spending of $5,500 on two laptops and $2,150 for a digital camera were seen by the auditor general as excessive. Dexter said they were for his constituency office.
The premier also admitted to three incidents of expensing meals on days he was already receiving an $84 per diem for food. Two cases involved a business breakfast and dinner hosted by the premier where he did not deduct his $9 and $36 bills respectively. In the third instance Dexter said he bought a ticket for a fundraiser he did not attend.
Dexter said he accepts his expenses were outside the norm and has repaid the government for the meals, the laptops and the camera.
