Municipal affairs minister says posting expenses online 'the optimal model'

Municipal Affairs Minister Zach Churchill says politicians posting their expenses online makes sense, given the public's expectation of transparency and accountability.

"That's the easiest way to ensure that taxpayers know where their dollars are going and where expenses are taking place," he told reporters on Thursday.

Speaking in New Ross, where the Liberals are holding out-of-town caucus meetings, Churchill was responding to a series of stories by the CBC about travel expenses for municipal politicians, including $600,000 spent by towns and municipalities to send elected officials to conferences in Niagara Falls and Vancouver. 

Review of Municipal Government Act underway

Provincial politicians are required to post all their expenses online, but there is no such requirement for municipal officials. When it comes to transparency, Churchill called having figures online "the optimal model."

"We have some municipalities that do that," he said. "We're reviewing the Municipal Government Act right now as we speak and this will be one of the topics that we deal with."

Billing booze at councillors' discretion

The minister said he expects to have recommendations for possible changes to the act sometime next year.

As for whether or not politicians should be able to expense alcohol, Churchill said it's up to individual councillors to decide what is appropriate.