Key takeaways:
- Cabinet ministers can expense gas and care; M.L.A.s get mileage covered.
- Prince Edward Islanders now spend nearly $2.20 a liter for regular gas.
- The rising prices of fuelling up are being reflected in M.L.A. expense records.
The rising fuel prices driving grief for Island drivers and customers are also reflected in P.E.I. cabinet ministers’ expense reports.
Health Minister Ernie Hudson appropriated $1,525.84 for gas for April alone, moving in from his West Prince community to work in Charlottetown as the legislative session continued.
Some other cabinet members weren’t too far back.
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Agriculture Minister Bloyce Thompson’s gas bill for April was $1,374.78, though his commute is much shorter from his community of Stanhope-Marshfield. Political critic Don Desserud said these are “rather high numbers” if you work it out daily.
“We’re talking $30 or $40 daily — maybe even more. And it’s hard to understand precisely how much traveling you ought to do in one day to warrant all that.”
Desserud said he doesn’t take the problem with mileage expenses being covered by taxpayers since he believes politicians should be out in the neighborhood. Some can’t bypass the high cost of traveling from their home districts.
Source – cbc.ca
