Understanding members' expenses

Members’ expenses and leaders of the opposition and their staff’s expenses are posted to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario website.

In December 2014, an amendment to the Legislative Assembly Act (external site) established a duty for the Speaker to post information online about payments made to members of provincial Parliament for travel, accommodation, meals, and hospitality expenses.

How are expenses governed?

Rules governing members’ expense disclosures are set by the Speaker. You can read the Rules governing members’ expense disclosures.

Expenses of leaders of the opposition and their staff are governed by Cabinet Ministers’ and Opposition Leaders’ Expenses Review and Accountability Act, 2002, and Public Sector Expenses Review Act, 2009 (external site). Rules for expense claims by opposition leaders are made by Order-in-Council under section 5 of the Cabinet Ministers’ and Opposition Leaders’ Expenses Review and Accountability Act, 2002 (the Act).

When are expenses posted?

Expenses are reported on a quarterly basis, after they are approved and processed. Each expense disclosure will remain on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario website for at least two years. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is responsible for posting members’ expense disclosures and opposition leaders and their staff expense disclosures online. Expense disclosures for opposition leaders and their staff are reviewed by the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario and posted within 90 days of their review.

Members’ expenses

As of September 2017, members’ expense disclosures are posted four times a year. Each cycle covers a three-month period:

  • disclosures from April 1 to June 30 will be posted by September 1 of that same year
  • disclosures from July 1 to September 30 will be posted by December 1 of that same year
  • disclosures from October 1 to December 31 will be posted by March 1 of the following year
  • disclosures from January 1 to March 31 will be posted by June 1 of that same year

Prior to September 2017, members’ expenses were posted twice a year. Each cycle covered a six-month period.

The first available members’ expense disclosure covers January 1 to March 31, 2016, because the Public Sector and MPP Accountability Act (external site) was not proclaimed until January 2016.

Finding a member's expenses

If there are no posted expenses during a specific reporting period for an individual member, it means that no expense claims were paid for that member during the reporting period. If a member does not appear in the list of MPPs for a reporting period, that means the member has not submitted an expense claim within the past two years.

Opposition leaders and their staff expenses

Expense disclosures for leaders of opposition parties do not cover any specific period, but are posted within 90 days of their review by the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (external site).

How are disclosures and annual reports different?

Annual reports

The Individual members’ expenditures report is an annual report. It is tabled in the House before each summer adjournment. The report is broken into two sections: Members’ travel and Toronto accommodation expenses, and Members’ office and support staff expenses. The Individual members’ expenditures report is different than individual members’ expense disclosures. The annual Individual members’ expenditures report includes all expenses attributed to individual members for many types of claims (e.g., office expenses, rent, support staff, other types of travel, and Toronto accommodation).

Members’ expense disclosures are governed by changes to the Legislative Assembly Act set out in the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014 (external site). The Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014 only requires the disclosure of travel expenses, hotel accommodation, meals and hospitality expenses.

Members’ expense disclosures

Members’ expense disclosures include travel, accommodation, meals, and hospitality expenses (as outlined in the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014) that are incurred by members in their role as MPPs.

Opposition leaders and their staff expense disclosures

Leaders of opposition parties can claim expenses in their capacity as a leader and as an MPP. Expenses for opposition leaders and members are tracked separately because different rules apply. For more details about opposition leader expenses, please consult the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario’s website (external site). If an opposition leader incurs an expense in their role as a leader of the opposition, this expense will appear as part of the leaders of the opposition and their staff’s expense disclosures. Expenses incurred in their role as MPP will be included in members’ expense disclosures.

Ministerial expenses

Ministerial expenses are not included in the expense disclosures. The disclosure of expenses made by members when conducting business on behalf of the government of Ontario can be found on Ontario.ca: Travel, meal, and hospitality expenses (external site).

What expenses are disclosed?

Members’ expenses and opposition leaders’ expenses disclose the following:

  • Travel expenses (other than travel within a members’ electoral district relating to their constituency work)
  • Hotel accommodations
  • Meal expenses
  • Hospitality expenses

Hospitality/event expenses

Hospitality or event expenses include costs that a member or opposition leader incurs hosting events or guests. Members and/or leaders may have refreshments for the public at their constituency office, host guests in the Legislative Assembly dining room, or host public events in their constituency. For more details about members’ hospitality entitlements, please see the Rules governing members’ expense disclosures. For information about opposition leaders and their staff, view the rules on the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario’s website (external site).

Travel expenses

Both members and leaders may disclose the following types of travel:

  • travel between Queen’s Park and the members’ residence or riding
  • travel for Assembly business outside of the members’ constituency, but within Ontario
  • family travel (i.e., travel between the member’s residence or riding and Queen’s Park by certain members of the MPP’s family or a designated traveller)
  • special circumstances requiring hotel accommodation in Toronto (e.g., during a snowstorm) for members who are not entitled to a Toronto Accommodation budget

What information is disclosed for each expense?

For a member’s expense to be paid, the following information must be provided:

  • member name and electoral district
  • date(s) the expense was incurred
  • type of expense
  • amount claimed by and paid for each type of expense
  • purpose of expense
  • travel destination or other geographic location where the expense was incurred

Expenses for opposition leaders and their staff must also include:

  • number of external participants (for hospitality expenses)
  • name and job title of staff member (where applicable)

Questions about expenses

If you have questions regarding expenses, please contact Financial Services at 416-325-9489, or memberservices@ola.org.