Advertisement

NDP MPs will have expense claims denied until they pay back disputed funds: Duncan

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair asks a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 15, 2015.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair asks a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 15, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA – New Democrat MPs who are on the hook for $2.7 million for allegedly using parliamentary resources for partisan purposes now face the prospect of having their expense claims denied by the House of Commons.

A spokeswoman for Conservative whip John Duncan says House of Commons officials will begin rejecting claims from NDP MPs who are accused of using public money to pay for so-called satellite offices across the country.

Those rejections are supposed to start Thursday, unless the MPs repay the $2.7 million the multi-party board of internal economy says they owe the public purse.

WATCH: Tom Mulcair defends NDP’s use of satellite offices.

The MPs are accused of using public money from their office budgets to pool funds in order to pay for create the outreach offices.

Story continues below advertisement

The NDP has strenuously denied that its MPs did anything wrong, saying they followed House of Commons spending rules when the offices were opened.

The party is challenging the board’s finding in Federal Court, calling the decision a politically motivated attack by the Conservatives and Liberals made behind closed doors in a “kangaroo court.”

Sponsored content

AdChoices