Horwath
Ontario NDP Leader
Andrea Horwath

Something tells me Andrea Horwath, Ontario’s NDP leader, is scrambling today.

After months of repeatedly slamming provincially-paid CEO’s for small-change expense claims, Freedom of Information requests have revealed that she has also been submitting small-change expense claims for items like coffee, muffins, parking, and so on.  The Toronto Sun reported on this yesterday here.  The CBC reported it too, but since the CBC is the Liberal Party’s cheerleader and unofficial propaganda arm, I flatly refuse to provide you with a link.  They also credit the Liberal Party of Ontario for these revelations, which makes their motivations questionable.

But this isn’t about the CBC.  This is about Horwath’s expense claims.

I have no issues at all with legitimate expense claims.  If you’re away from home on business and incur expenses in the capacity of doing your job, then it’s only reasonable to expect you’re employer to reimburse you.  In return, it’s only reasonable for your employer to expect you to be reasonable in the expenses you incur.  That doesn’t mean you have to eat every meal at McDonald’s, but it means you probably shouldn’t find the most high-end, expensive fine dining establishment around and order the most expensive meal, with a high-quality bottle of wine.

Based on what I’ve read about Horwath’s expenses, they’re not unreasonable.  There’s no alcohol purchases, and they’re usually in family-style restaurants at reasonable prices.  They’re exactly the type of expenses I’ve incurred when on the job. The issue with Horwath’s expense claims isn’t the amounts; it’s the fact that she’s on record as being critical of others who have incurred them.

Oops.

Criticizing the actions of another whilst engaging in the same thing yourself is called hypocrisy, and if she’s a hypocrite about something like this, what else is she hypocritical about? Actions speak louder than words, and her actions show us that she can’t be trusted. And, while it’s no surprise that a politician can’t be trusted, it does show that she’s unfit for the top job.

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