FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15th, 2026
The Honourable Donna Skelly, Speaker
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Building, Room 104
111 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, ON M7A 1A2
July 15th, 2026
Dear Madam Speaker,
RE: Board of Internal Economy – Special Circumstances Expenses
I am writing in response to the letter you received today from the Government House Leader regarding the Special Circumstances expense provision.
Sixteen Government members representing Toronto-area ridings — including four cabinet ministers with access to taxpayer-funded vehicles and drivers — claimed a combined $107,118 for overnight stays in Toronto under a provision intended for emergencies such as snowstorms, without any public record of the dates, locations, or reasons for the stays.
The Government House Leader now proposes to eliminate the provision. We will support ending this practice, but the problem was not the provision — it was that Government Members may have abused it. Eliminating it without accountability does not resolve this matter; it buries it. The Members who submitted these expenses cannot decide for themselves which ones “meet the spirit of the policy.”
Accordingly, I will be proposing that the Board of Internal Economy consider the following motion:
Moved by _____________, seconded by _____________, that the Board of Internal Economy:
- Require the full reimbursement of all amounts claimed under the Special Circumstances provision by Members residing within 50 kilometres of the Legislature, except where an independent review determines a claim was consistent with the intent of the provision;
- Direct the public disclosure of the dates, locations, and stated reasons for each such claim; and
- Refer all such claims made since 2022 for independent review.
I request that this motion be added to the agenda of an upcoming Board of Internal Economy meeting.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Bowman, MPP
Ontario Liberal Member, Board of Internal Economy
cc: Trevor Day, Clerk, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Hon. Paul Calandra, Minister of Education, MPP
Hon. Steve Clark, Government House Leader, MPP
John Vanthof, MPP