Federal Liberal MP Hedy Fry’s office says a misfiled 2024 hospitality expense initially recorded as a Valentine’s Day dinner was actually for her International Women’s Day brunch held March 2, 2024.
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Federal Liberal MP Hedy Fry is facing questions after a hospitality expense filed under her name in 2024 was later corrected by her office.
The expense, which was approved through the House of Commons Financial Management Office, charged taxpayers $1,422 for what the filing described as a two-person dinner at Dockside restaurant on Granville Island on Valentine’s Day in 2024. The form said the dinner was to “discuss constituency issues with stakeholders.”
The expense was approved and was not questioned until independent journalist Isaac Peltz posted about it on Instagram.
When asked about the charge, Fry’s office said the matter involved a serious mistake in how the expense was filed and said a former staff member made the error.
According to the office, the expense was actually for Fry’s annual International Women’s Day brunch, held on March 2, 2024, and attended by 30 people rather than two.
Fry’s office supplied photos and an itemized receipt showing the Women’s Day event and said the spending was not improper. The office also said Fry was not available for an interview on Monday.
Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher said the way the expense was filed is concerning, adding that MPs run their own spending system through the Board of Internal Economy.
Conacher also said the fact the filing was not detected for so long should prompt regular, random audits, arguing the current system does not provide enough oversight. He said the Auditor General should announce regular, random audits of MPs spending.
MPs are not required to post itemized receipts, but Fry’s office later provided one for the Women’s Day brunch.
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