Report Documents Blue Water Bridge Expense Abuse

Treasury Board President Tony Clement has announced new restrictions on travel and hospitality expenses for Crown Corporations. The restrictions come on the heels of a scathing CBC report that found one of the Conservative government's appointees to Blue Water Bridge Canada racked up thousands of dollars in questionable expenses over a five year period. Freelance land-records researcher Ann Gray sat on the board from 2007 to 2012. Although appointees were not paid, they could take their spouses on international trips, and were allowed alcohol, food and entertainment expenses. The CBC says Gray, and her husband Robert Gray, well-known local Conservative supporters, went on three international conferences, to San Diego, Berlin, and Vienna. The report says they racked up close to $37,000 dollars in expenses, for everything from business class travel to potato chips, to zoo visits, to a bottle of duty free amaretto. Marcel Beaubien was appointed the new chair of the board in 2012 to address concerns about lavish spending. He tells BlackburnNews.com that Gray's trips and expenses had been authorized beforehand but came to an end during his tenure. Beaubien admits he was stunned by an apparent abuse of public funds that he says was a chronic problem and admitted the new board had to raise tolls on the bridge because of financial issues. The CBC report quotes Gray as saying her expenditures were within the policy, a bit of a "thank you" and recognition for the time she had committed to the organization. Earlier this year, the Ottawa-based Federal Bridge Corporation assumed operation of four international crossings including the Blue Water Bridge.