WATCH: The man in charge of Canada’s top spy agency has only been on the job for a few months, but he’s already claimed tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses. As Mike Le Couteur reports, it’s hard to know what the trips were for because the spy agency is keeping that information secret.
TORONTO – CSIS director Michel Coulombe claimed tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses in less than a year on the job, and an agency spokesperson declined several opportunities to explain the spending.
Documents obtained by Global News through an access to information request show that Coulombe submitted expense claims for flights and accommodations.
The records cover the period between October 2013, when Coulombe became the agency’s director, and August 2014, when the request was submitted.
As the country’s spy agency, CSIS gathers intelligence, assesses threats against Canada and advises the federal government on national security issues.
READ MORE: Conservatives table new bill to beef up spy agency
Coulombe expensed two nights in a hotel last May for a total of $1,717.28. On July 1, he began a three-day stay in a hotel that cost $2,257.48—about $750 per night.
In August, Coulombe expensed one night of accommodation for $673.38.
CSIS also spent thousands of dollars on flights for Coulombe.
Records indicate that airline tickets for Coulombe’s travel on July 22 and July 30, 2014 cost $15,819.73. Tickets for May 26 and June 5 totalled $10,893.79, while tickets for Feb. 23 and March 4 cost $8,223.16.
Much of the information in the records was redacted before their release. However, some claims indicate that Coulombe has criss-crossed the country as CSIS director. There are references to trips to Halifax, Edmonton, and Toronto.
Coulombe’s busy schedule has, at times, required shuffling of his itinerary.
One record references $842.98 in penalties after twice amending Coulombe’s flight plans for July 9. That day, he was scheduled to depart Ottawa at 9:30 a.m. and depart from Toronto at 2:45 p.m, according to an email.
CSIS spokesperson Tahera Mufti declined to put Global in touch with anyone who directly handled Mr. Coulombe’s expense claims, saying CSIS employees’ identities must be kept secret.
“Especially nowadays, we need to protect the identity of our employees,” said Mufti before seeing specific questions from Global.
Mufti said she would respond to questions submitted in advance.
There are several references throughout the records to less expensive accommodations and travel. For example, hotel accommodations for two nights in July cost $311.78; Via Rail tickets purchased in February cost $204.53.
The records also suggest that Mr. Coulombe sometimes flies business class. There are handwritten notes reading “Bus class” alongside details of the director’s travel schedule of airline tickets.
There are other hints in the records at the nature of some of Coulombe’s travels: a reference to a “Townhall” in Halifax, and another to “Regional travel to BC & PR to attend townhalls.”
But it is impossible to determine from the censored documents the exact reasons for Coulombe’s sometimes-expensive travel arrangements.
It is, however, possible to compare Coulombe’s expenses with those of his colleagues in Ottawa, including Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, who oversees CSIS.
Blaney expensed $2,555.05 for airfare to California in July, 2013, according to online disclosures. His airfare to Mexico City last February was $599.16. And accommodations for a four-day trip to British Columbia last August came to $623.42.
A source tells Global News that when Blaney travels, he books economy fare seats. He sometimes uses accumulated points to upgrade to business class, but that doesn’t cost taxpayers a penny.
CSIS does not not appear on the Treasury Board of Canada’s list of governmental departments, offices and agencies that proactively disclose travel and hospitality expenses.
“All members of CSIS adhere to the Government of Canada rules and regulations set forth by Treasury Board Secretariat,” Mufti said in an email.
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Andrew Mitrovica, a columnist at iPolitics.ca who has reported extensively on the spy agency, said the expenses are not surprising.
“They spend whatever they want to spend, particularly at the director’s level,” Mitrovica said.
“These guys never brown-bagged it in their life.”
In his book about CSIS, Mitrovica revealed that CSIS director Ward Elcock had travelled to London, Paris, Amsterdam, China, Brazil, and Washington, D.C., among other locales. In Washington, Elcock booked a stay at a hotel where, according to Mitrovica, discount rates for suites ranged from $300 and $400. Elcock also dined at Washington’s Capital Grille, spending “close to two thousand dollars on dinner and drinks,” Mitrovica wrote.
“He’s cultured to behave this way,” said Mitrovica about Coulombe, who served in several roles since joining the intelligence agency in 1986.
Messages left for the Security Intelligence Review Committee, the independent review body for CSIS, were not returned.
READ MORE: CSIS obstructed spy watchdog, report says
With a file from Global News reporter Jacques Bourbeau
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