Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the interests of transparency and accountability for the
expense of major public dollars, I will ask the Deputy Premier questions on the significant cost of travel by elected officials and public servants.
Travel by Ministers alone in 2009-2010, in the first three months of 2012 totalled three-quarters of a million dollars. Quarterly reports are publicly available, which document the travel costs of Ministers, but we know that committee members also travel with Ministers. Whether these costs come from ministerial or committee budgets is all the same to the taxpayer. They are expressing concerns about travel costs.
What are the Minister’s views on widening the reporting parameters to include the cost for all elected Members travelling with Ministers, in the interest of transparency? Mahsi.