Let’s look at the latest so-called “scandal” that the national media is making a meal of. You would think that NDP MP Niki Ashton had robbed a bank.

Member of Parliament Niki Ashton (Churchill-Keewatinook Aski in Manitoba) spent $17,641 of public money to go on a trip over Xmas 2022 to Quebec City and Montreal.  She took her partner and her two young children. She says it was (in part) a working holiday because she met with many people about preserving French language and encouraging it.  

Since this news came out about a week ago, she has been relentlessly verbally attacked, followed and denounced throughout the media.  Her boss, leader of the NDP Jagmeet Singh, explained that all the MPs, including those in his party, must adhere to strict rules set by the House of Commons and the MPs are accountable for their expenses.  

House of Commons travel points

In fact, from what I understand, Ashton went on the trip, spent the money and then got reimbursed for the $17,000 of what she spent on airfare, hotels and some meals.   It turns out, according to the CBC article, there is a point system for MP travel.  If an MP travels for “parliamentary functions,” there is a point system, not just for the politician but also  for their spouses and dependents.  

Almost all MPs travel not only to and  from their ridings to Ottawa, but also to other places.  For instance, in September 2023, the Conservatives had a party policy meeting in Quebec City, and the cost of travel for MPs was nearly $427,000.  If all 118 Tory MPs attended, that’s an average of  $3600 per MP.   The NDP’s conference in Hamilton, Ont in Oct. 2023 probably drew most of the 24 NDP MPs. The cost was nearly $84,000 which means, on average, each MP was reimbursed $3461. Of course, this is a far cry from the $17,000 Ashton was reimbursed, but perhaps some of the MPs brought their families and others didn’t attend at all. 

Getting back to Ashton, the issue was that the House of Commons had risen five days before her trip, and the trip took place during the Christmas holidays.  As critic for official languages, Ashton said she met with “stakeholders,”  and others “to find out things she needs to prioritize” about linguistic issues.  Fair enough. 

The federal NDP’s Director of Communications Alana Cahill told the National Post,  

“During her trip to Quebec City, Niki Ashton met with people working in the cultural sector of the Quebec Black community, people involved in Fair Vote Quebec, an author, and people involved in the union movement. These discussions focused on a variety of topics like official languages, promotion of culture, electoral reform, and fair taxation.” 

Ashton is under no obligation to release names of whom she met – just like the hundreds of other MPs who also took trips in Canada.  

The trip “looks really bad and it smells really fishy.”

Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the right-wing Canadian Taxpayers Federation

So what’s all this about? The right-wing Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) was first off the mark in condemning Ashton. Franco Terrazzano, federal director of CTF, said the trip “looks really bad and it smells really fishy.” He added ominously she better have “a very good explanation.” 

Turns out that in the first six months of 2023, MPs spent more than $14.6 million of public money on travel, according to CTV.  That was 10% more than in the last six months of 2022.  

Kevin Klein, former Manitoba MLA, former Winnipeg city councillor and now president and CEO of the Klein Group, also put the boots to Ashton in an op-ed in the Winnipeg Sun.  In his article published here two days ago, he clearly didn’t get the memo that her expenses had been allowed.  His blather about Ashton’s lack of accountability is irrelevant, I suspect– especially since, recently, Klein became the proud owner of the Winnipeg Sun, which Postmedia sold to his Klein Group along with two other regional newspapers.  He’s certainly not a disinterested party in the prospect of taking down left-wing politicians like Ashton.

Who would be interested in taking down Ashton?

Who else would be interested in taking Ashton down? Well CIJA (the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs) for one. In March 2021, Ashton, along with author and university professor Naomi Klein (no relation to Kevin Klein), and Avi Lewis, also a university professor, presented a webinar that featured ousted British Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn.  Corbyn who led the Labour party for more than five years, was wrongly accused of antisemitism (with no proof) and was forced out as leader.  He now sits as an independent. The webinar was on behalf of an NGO, Progressive International,  “a global network of progressives committed to fighting against the rise of the far right, growing inequality and the threat of the climate catastrophe,” Ashton said.  “Corbyn… has fought for peace and justice and against racism of all forms throughout his life.” 

“I wholeheartedly denounce antisemitism but let me be clear once and for all — showing solidarity with Palestine isn’t antisemitism and neither is criticism of the state of Israel’s human rights record.”

Elizabeth May, MP, leader of the Green Party, Dec. 2022

In Dec. 2022 Ashton was one of at least nine MPs who attended the Canada-Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Group’s all-party reception to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The event was attended by Nazih Khatatba, editor of a Toronto-based Arabic newspaper—whom the pro-Israel lobby contended was an antisemite.  Interestingly, in attendance was former Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, two other Liberal MPs, several MPs from the Bloc and from the NDP (including Ashton).  MP Elizabeth May, the Green Party leader, also attended and stated in a media release  “I wholeheartedly denounce antisemitism but let me be clear once and for all – showing solidarity with Palestine isn’t antisemitism and neither is criticism of the state of Israel’s human rights record.” Still CIJA and Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre denounced the event and all those who attended, suggesting they were antisemitic. 

In December 2023, Ashton in a statement to the House of Commons called for a political solution for peace for Gaza, after more than 30,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israel.  She said we had to stop Canada’s complicity with Israel, our arms trade with Israel and end our diplomatic efforts with Israel as they have amounted to nothing and not stopped the massacre in Gaza. 

Just two weeks ago, in the House of Commons, Ashton proposed a motion to include Anti-Palestinian racism in Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy before June 19, due to the increase in anti-Palestinian racism and in Antisemitism since Oct. 7.  She noted the current Anti-Racism Strategy does not even reference anti-Palestinian racism. 

So I would venture to say, that Ashton is a thorn in the side of many in the pro-Israel lobby camp. And they would love to see her taken down a few pegs, or completely.

The attack on Niki Ashton sidelined an entire media conference organized last week by Independent Jewish Voices (IJV-Canada) and the Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. The media conference was  to complain about the charity Mizrachi Canada breaking Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules by sending money to further Israel’s war efforts.  The media seemed interested only in Ashton’s expense scandal, not the important issue of charities such as Mizrahi Canada – whose Canadian donors receive tax deductions for  contributions that support the Israeli government’s efforts to pulverize Palestinians. 

Where’s a journalist when you need one?

Leaving Ashton behind for a minute, why is it that not one establishment journalist has taken the opportunity to write or speak about the MPs who have taken free trips to Israel?  Hundreds of thousands of public money have been spent sending MPs to Israel.  I’ll explain how in a moment. First, the points system MPs enjoy for domestic travel, does not apply to foreign travel.  But more than 800 Canadian MPs over the last 50 years have taken free trips to Israel, that some call Junkets to Genocide.  Seventy-three MPs, 22% of all sitting MPs, have been to Israel courtesy of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) .  Here in Atlantic Canada, the following people travelled for free to Israel:

• Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, MP for Beausejour in New Brunswick went in 2011;  
• Yvonne Jones (Liberal – Labrador) and went in 2014;  
• Seamus O’Regan Jr, Minister of Labour, MP for St John’s South-Mt Pearl, NL, took the trip in 2016; 
• Andy Fillmore  (Liberal – Halifax) went in 2016, a year after first being elected
• Kody Blois (Liberal – Kings-Hants), and his wife Kim went on the Israel trip in July 2023.    

To see a list of all the “freeloaders” who took the trips to Israel, see The Maple’s chart by Davide Mastracci of current MPs who took the trip below.  Read more about it in The Maple here and here.  

Lobbyists should not create a situation where the MP could be “reasonably seen” to have a “sense of obligation” towards the lobbying interest.

Rule 4.3 of Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct, 2023

According to mandatory filings from CIJA, Nova Scotia Liberal MP Kody Blois’ eight-day trip for two was valued at  $23,900 – about $3,000 a day.  Isn’t that a potential conflict of interest?  The 2023 Lobbyist Code of Conduct’s rule 4.3 states that lobbyists should not create a situation where the MP could be “reasonably seen” to have a “sense of obligation” towards the lobbying interest.  Rule 3.1 states that a lobbyist should “Never provide any gift – directly or indirectly – to an official that you lobby or expect to lobby, other than a low-value gift that is a token of appreciation….”

The trip was a huge gift, or benefit  – and it is very likely to have created a “sense of obligation”, suggests Rob Parker of the Hants County Coalition for Peace and Human Rights.  “We believe that this represents a possible quid pro quo.  We also believe that, given the context of serious war crimes and possibly genocide, that this transaction warrants serious scrutiny.”  

Indeed, since returning from his trip in late July 2023, MP Blois has wasted little time in beating the drum for Israel.  A tweet by Blois on Oct. 8, 2023, reads, “The images from Israel are horrific. It’s disappointing to see celebrations in Canada of the indiscriminate mass killing of innocent civilians. We need to separate the deeply important question of Palestine’s future and a true peace process from Hamas’ brutality and terrorism.” 

On the face of it –what is wrong – it’s free isn’t it? 

Are the trips to Israel really free?

Well, not really.  You see CIJA and its fellow Israel-touting agencies, including B’nai Brith and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal, are deemed charities in Canada.  That means those who donate to them receive tax deductions. If I give $1000.00 to CIJA, I’ll get about a third of that back in my taxes.  The federal government does not forgo that $300 that I get back; housekeepers, minimum wage workers, cleaners and secretaries are paying their taxes so that I can get my tax refund.  That’s appalling.  The crossing-guard at the corner (who earns just above minimum wage) is paying his taxes so an MP can have a “free trip” to Israel.  I’ve written about this here.  Davide Mastracci editor at The Maple has written about it here, and here.  

The issue is this:  Niki Ashton MP took a legitimate trip and was permitted to take her husband and children with her to Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa.  She was reimbursed.

MPs such as Kody Blois, Andy Fillmore and dozens more took free trips to Israel. University professors and presidents – such as McGill University’s president Deep Saini also took the free trip.   Saini, former president of Dalhousie, went on the trip with U15 presidents of Canada’s major research universities in August 2022.  This is well documented in this 2023 article “University presidents’ trip to Israel undermines academic freedom and democracy” in The Conversation here. 

A freedom of information request about McGill’s president in October 2023, a week or so after the war on Gaza began, revealed many emails about Saini’s position about the “war”.   In December 2023, Jacob Serebrin of The Canadian Press reported in the National Post,

“McGill University released 152 emails, mostly to principal Deep Saini, from students, faculty, alumni and members of the public. They discuss the university’s statements about the war, and express concern about the position taken by a student group. They also include comments about Saini’s Oct. 12 statement in which he wrote that he “watched with horror the immense suffering and loss of human life that Hamas caused through its heinous terrorist attack on Israel…. [some emails said] Saini minimized the deaths of Palestinian civilians. Other emails described worry that the principal’s words would have a chilling effect on pro-Palestinian voices on campus.” 

Saini took the trip and now defends Israel

Today, Saini is demanding an end to the McGill encampment and is threatening disciplinary action against  students who dare to stand against Israel’s genocide.  Once again, McGill is taking the protest encampment to court, this time for an order to evict the campers; the court date will be in July.   Twice before, McGill and Saini were unsuccessful in obtaining an injunction to stop the protest and remove the encampment.  But I guess his actions were not influenced by his freebie trip to Israel – courtesy of Canadian taxpayers.  

Below: The chart prepared by Davide Mastracci at The Maple. Original chart and info is here.

Image at the top: From a Gaza craft exhibit at the Stars Entertainment Centre by the beach in Gaza City in 2017. I doubt very much the centre even exists today, thanks to Israel’s bombings. For more read this.