TORONTO – Toronto-area Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman says he was honest and followed the rules by collecting a housing allowance of more than $20,000 a year for a home in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Shurman told Toronto radio station Newstalk 1010 he has agreed to stop collecting the accommodation allowance while the rules are reviewed, even though the Niagara home is his primary residence.
Members of the legislature claim the allowance if their primary residence is more than 50 kilometres away from Queen’s Park in downtown Toronto.
Shurman, who represents Thornhill just north of Toronto, apologized for saying earlier in the week that an MPP’s $116,000 salary wasn’t a lot of money, and said he never meant to trivialize taxpayers money or be so cavalier.
The governing Liberals, who are the targets of Shurman’s frequent tirades about wasting taxpayer dollars, say he exploited a loophole to subsidize his retirement home.
Shurman says he did inform PC Leader Tim Hudak when he changed his primary residence and started collecting the housing allowance.
Shurman, 65, refused all media requests for comment both Thursday and Friday as he was observing the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, his staff said.
However, he appeared late Friday on the radio station where he used to work, taking questions from host John Tory, a former Ontario PC leader.
Tory never asked if Shurman intended to pay back any of the money.
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