TORONTO, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation today called on the provincial government to replace Grant Jameson, Ontario Fairness Commissioner, who has claimed
$92,130 in expenses to commute from Ottawa to Toronto, according to disclosures on his office's
website.
"Ontario taxpayers deserve to know why the Fairness Commissioner thinks it's fair to commute by plane every week and expense his living arrangements for a job he took in another city," said CTF Ontario Director Christine Van Geyn. "Reasonable people who are lucky enough to be offered six-figure salaries relocate for that job. They don't expense an entire second salary to the taxpayers for commuting costs."
Since he was appointed in April 2017, 96 per cent
($88,721) of Jameson's expenses are for travel, accommodations, and meals related to his commute from his home in Ottawa to the Fairness Commissioner's Office in Toronto. In addition to the total $92,130 in expenses claimed by Jameson, he is earning a taxpayer funded salary of
$105,026 per year
Expenses for 2019 are not yet available. It is notable that Jameson's predecessor had expenses totalling just
$8.80 for one taxi ride in 2016, and that the commissioner from 2014-15 had expenses of just
$371.
After compiling
a record of Jameson's expenses between April 2017 and December 2018, the CTF has tabulated that of the $88,721 he expensed for commuting, 32 per cent of that was for flights and taxis, 66 per cent was for accommodations, and 2 per cent was for meals.
"The government should not renew Jameson's term when it expires in April," said Van Geyn. "And when choosing a new commissioner, the government must appoint someone who can get to the office without sticking taxpayers with a huge bill. Jameson's predecessor managed to do this job from Toronto and charged taxpayers less than $9 in expenses. That's showing a lot better judgment about what is 'fair' than the current commissioner's high-flying lifestyle."
