“The numbers simply don’t add up,” NDP finds millions unaccounted for in Premier’s office spending

QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario NDP Finance critic Catherine Fife (Waterloo) and MPP Terence Kernaghan (London North Centre) raised concerns about millions of unaccounted-for dollars in spending by the Premier’s office at Monday’s Standing Committee for Finance and Economic Affairs.

“This government and the Premier’s numbers simply don’t add up,” said Fife following the hearing where she questioned the Government House Leader and former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark.

For the 2023-24 budget year, the interim actuals reported in estimates of the Premier’s office spending on salaries was $2,007,100. The 2023 Sunshine list totals for the Premier’s office spending on salaries was $6,965,299.78.

“The question is very simple: How many staff are employed in the Premier’s office and what is the office’s total spending?” Fife asked. “It shouldn’t be this difficult for the people of Ontario to get some transparency about how their taxpayer dollars are being spent.”