Nova Scotia parliamentary expenses scandal

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The Nova Scotia parliamentary expenses scandal concerned the excessive expenses of several members of the Nova Scotia legislative assembly and the inadequacy of management processes and rules. [1] Among other consequences of the scandal, 4 MLAs were charged with offences and convicted for fraud or breach of trust. [2]

Contents

Background

Part-way through the first session of the 61st General Assembly, the NDP, under Premier Darrell Dexter, announced that it would "eliminate an MLA severance payment as well as their ability to sell their office furniture and equipment." [3] According to a report by the CBC, the MLA severance package alone cost the province over $600,000 after the preceding election. [3] The province did not want MLAs who resigned or were defeated to profit from selling their office furniture, and wanted the furniture to become provincial property when the MLA was finished with it. [3] The report viewed this as the first step in changing the rules regarding expenses of Nova Scotia MLAs. [3]

On February 3, 2010, Nova Scotia's auditor general, Jacques Lapointe, released a 142-page report suggesting that for the period between July 2006 and June 2009, "several politicians had filed 'excessive and unreasonable' claims, in part because of inadequate spending controls." [1] According to the CBC, MLAs in the Nova Scotia Legislature are "entitled to spend $45,000 a year in payments that require no receipts". [1] Lapointe did not name any MLAs in his report and said that he had found no criminal wrongdoing. [1] He hoped that more attention would be focused on repairing the expenses system rather than on assailing legislators individually. [1]

In the wake of the Auditor General's report, Speaker Charlie Parker compiled a full list of "questionable expenses", which was made public on February 8. [4]

On February 9, 2010, the first political casualty of the scandal occurred when Richard Hurlburt, Progressive Conservative MLA for Yarmouth, resigned days after the Auditor General's report had shown he had spent about $8,000 on a generator, for his home. The Speaker's list of expenses also showed that Hurlburt had "bought a 42-inch television worth $2,499, which he paid $579 to have installed" in his constituency office in Yarmouth. [5] [6]

On March 12, 2010, Dave Wilson, Liberal MLA for Glace Bay, unexpectedly resigned. It was later revealed by the CBC that the Auditor General had requested a meeting on February 24, with Wilson to discuss his expenses. [7] On February 27, Wilson hired a lawyer, and did not go to the auditor general's meeting. [7] Wilson was originally mentioned in the Auditor general's report for spending $400 on patio furniture. [7] When the opposition parties released figures on how much their MLAs had spent in regards to pay for employees of their constituency office, it was shown that Wilson had spent the largest amount, paying one staffer $24,000 extra over an 18-month period, and $37,000 to others over a three-year period. [7]

Criminal charges

On February 14, 2011, after an eight-month investigation, Hurlburt, Wilson, NDP/independent MLA Trevor Zinck and former Liberal cabinet minister/independent MLA Russell MacKinnon were all charged with fraud of over $5,000 and breach of trust by a public officer. Zinck was charged with two counts of theft of over $5,000, and Hurlburt, Wilson and MacKinnon were charged with uttering a forged document. [8]

In September 2011, Wilson pleaded guilty to one count each of uttering forged documents, fraud and breach of trust, [9] and was sentenced to 9 months in jail and 18 months of probation in April 2012. [10]

On April 12, 2012, Hurlburt pleaded guilty to fraud and breach of trust. [11] He was sentenced to 1 year of house arrest and 1 year of probation. [12]

MacKinnon planned to fight the charges against him in court. [13] He eventually pleaded guilty to breach of trust and received a 1 year conditional sentence, followed by 1 year of probation. [2]

A preliminary hearing for Zinck had been postponed several times [14] and his trial date was set for June 10, 2013. [15] During his trial, Zinck pleaded guilty to criminal counts of fraud and breach of trust, and was sentenced to imprisonment for 4 months, followed by probation for 1 year. [2]

Members involved and their claims

Note: The table below counts the total amount claimed by the MLA in expenses. However, not all of these claims are for illegitimate purposes.

Name
PartyRidingExpenses (July 2006 – June 2009) [16] RepaidNotes
   Darrell Dexter NDP Cole Harbour $19,299.63$7,600 [4] Premier of Nova Scotia.
   Keith Colwell Liberal Preston $15,333.03$252 for Art bought from his brotherAwaiting Speaker's instructions on what to do with the rest of the money
   Ron Chisholm Progressive Conservative Formerly Guysborough-Sheet Harbour $9,708.55Defeated in 2009
   Leonard Preyra NDP Halifax Citadel-Sable Island $25,733.20
   Charlie Parker NDP Pictou West $7,004.65Speaker of the House
   Richard Hurlburt Progressive Conservative Formerly Yarmouth $33,220.18Generator in homeResigned after the expenses were made public
   Len Goucher Progressive Conservative Formerly Bedford $38,694.14The highest amount of expenses claimed by an MLA. Defeated in 2009. [17]
   Karen Casey Progressive Conservative Colchester North $17,463.23Interim Leader of the Progressive Conservatives
   Wayne Gaudet Liberal Clare $16,067.20
   Howard Epstein NDP Halifax Chebucto $14,206.87
   Rodney MacDonald Progressive Conservative Formerly Inverness $9,558.00Former Premier of Nova Scotia
   John MacDonell NDP Hants East $26,790.75Minister of Natural Resources
   Michel Samson Liberal Richmond $13,150.50
   Dave Wilson Liberal Formerly Glace Bay $13,260.16Resigned in March 2010
   Trevor Zinck NDP Dartmouth North $8,533.24
   H. Dave Wilson NDP Sackville-Cobequid $11,892.98
   Sterling Belliveau NDP Shelburne $15,642.59Minister of Fisheries and Minister of the Environment
   Keith Bain Progressive Conservative Victoria-The Lakes $15,486.29
   Cecil Clarke Progressive Conservative Cape Breton North $20,044.33
   Barry Barnet Progressive Conservative Formerly Hammonds Plains-Upper Sackville $8,616.94Defeated in 2009
   Carolyn Bolivar-Getson Progressive Conservative Formerly Lunenburg West $17,512.32Returned Generator and Plasma TVDefeated in 2009
   Vicki Conrad NDP Queens $15,830.32
   Bill Estabrooks NDP Timberlea-Prospect $2,043.96The lowest amount of expenses claimed by an MLA. [17]
   Frank Corbett NDP Cape Breton Centre $8,887.15NDP House Leader, previously apologized for expenses related to celebratory meals.
   Chris d'Entremont Progressive Conservative Argyle $14,268.40Former Minister of Finance

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Audit finds inappropriate MLA spending", CBC website, February 3, 2010, archived from the original on December 23, 2013, retrieved March 6, 2010, Nova Scotia's auditor general slammed the province's expense system Wednesday and said several politicians had filed "excessive and unreasonable" claims, in part because of inadequate spending controls.
  2. 1 2 3 Bruce, Steve (October 9, 2013), "Zinck gets four months for fraud, breach of trust", The Chronicle Herald website, archived from the original on October 9, 2013, retrieved November 9, 2024
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Nova Scotia to trim MLA perks", CBC website, September 18, 2009, archived from the original on April 11, 2016, retrieved March 20, 2010, The Dexter government will use its majority on a legislature committee to eliminate an MLA severance payment as well as their ability to sell their office furniture and equipment.
  4. 1 2 "All MLAs named for excessive expense claims". CBC News, February 8, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
  5. ↑ "MLA expenses audit provokes mea culpas". CBC News, February 8, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Hurlburt resigns amid spending flap". CBC News, February 9, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "McNeil in dark about MLA's resignation". CBC News, March 12, 2010. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  8. ↑ "MLA spending probe in N.S. gets 4 charged". CBC News, February 18, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Ex-MLA Wilson's fraud victim speaks out". CBC News. September 13, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Ex-MLA Wilson sentenced to nine months in jail". CBC News. April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Hurlburt pleads guilty in N.S. spending scandal". CBC News. April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  12. ↑ Canadian Press. "Fraud case ends in house arrest for former N.S. cabinet minister". iPolitics.ca. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "Ex-MLA Russell MacKinnon heads to trial". CBC News. January 16, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Zinck preliminary hearing delayed again". CBC News. October 13, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  15. ↑ Trevor Zinck's MLA spending scandal trial dates confirmed, Global Maritimes, September 25, 2012.
  16. ↑ List of MLA's Expenses (PDF)
  17. 1 2 "Former MLA Goucher biggest spender". CBC News, February 10, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
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