In December 2014, the Assembly passed the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014 (external link). This act amended the Legislative Assembly Act (external link) to add section 68, which establishes a duty for the Speaker to post information online respecting payments made to members of the Assembly for travel, accommodation, meals, and hospitality expenses. Rules governing members’ expenses are set by the Speaker.

Posting of travel, meal, and hospitality expenses for leaders of the opposition and their staff is governed by Cabinet Ministers’ and Opposition Leaders’ Expenses Review and Accountability Act, 2002 (external link), and Public Sector Expenses Review Act, 2009 (external link). Rules for expense claims by opposition leaders are established by the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (external link).

Members’ expenses and leaders’ expenses disclose specific expenses claimed by and paid to members of provincial Parliament and leaders of the opposition and their staff:

1. Travel expenses, other than for travel within a member’s electoral district relating to his or her constituency work
2. Expenses for hotel accommodation related to travel referred to in clause (1)
3. Meal expenses
4. Hospitality expenses

For more information regarding the rules governing travel, accommodation, meal, and hospitality expenses, please consult the Rules governing members’ expenses.

For members’ expenses, the following information is required for each reportable payment:

1. The name of the member and electoral district
2. The date the expense was incurred
3.  The type of expense (i.e., travel, accommodation, meals, hospitality)
4. The amount claimed by and paid to the member for each type of expense
5. The purpose of the expense
6.  The travel destination or other geographic location where, or in respect of, the expense was incurred

Expense disclosures for opposition leaders and their staff include the information above, as well as:

1. The number of external participants (for hospitality)
2. The name and job title of staff member (where applicable)

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is responsible for posting expense disclosures online for members of the Legislative Assembly and leaders of the opposition and their staff.

Expenses for leaders of the opposition and their staff are reviewed by the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (external link) before they are posted online.

After September 2017, each member’s expense disclosure covers a three-month period:

• April 1 to June 30
• July 1 to September 30
• October 1 to December 31
• January 1 to March 31

Prior to September 2017, each disclosure covered a six-month period: April 1 to September 30 and October 1 to March 31. 

Reportable expenses for leaders of opposition parties do not cover any specified period, but are posted within 90 days of their review by the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (external link).

Starting March 31, 2017, members’ expense dislcosures are published four times a year, shortly after each reporting period ends: 

• 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 March 31, 2017, members’ expenses were published twice a year.

Expense disclosures for opposition leaders and their staff will be posted on the site within 90 days of their review by the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (external link). 

Each expense disclosure will remain on the website for not less than two years.

Expenses are reported after they are approved and processed in the financial system. An individual may incur an expense on a specific date, but the expense might not be submitted or approved until a later date. 

If there are no posted expenses during a reporting period for an individual member, it means that no expense claims were processed for that individual during the reporting period. 

If the member you’re looking for does not appear in the list of MPPs, it means that member has not submitted an expense claim within the past two years.

The Individual members’ expenditures report (PDF) is tabled in the House before the summer adjournment. This annual report has two sections: Members’ travel and Toronto accommodation expenses, and Members’ office and support staff expenses. This report differs from the individual disclosures posted in the members’ expenses section of the website, which are governed by changes to the Legislative Assembly Act set out in the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014 (external link).

The Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014 only requires the disclosure of travel expenses, hotel accommodation, meals, and hospitality expenses. The annual Individual members’ expenditures report includes all expenses attributed to individual members for many types of claims, including those not reportable under The Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014 (e.g., office expenses, rent, support staff, certain other types of travel, and Toronto accommodation).

The following types of travel may be disclosed in members’ expenses and leaders’ expenses: 

• travel between Queen’s Park and the member’s residence or riding
• travel outside of the constituency, but within Ontario, for Legislative Assembly business
• 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 traveler)
• special circumstances requiring hotel accommodation in Toronto (e.g., during a snowstorm), for those members who are not entitled to a Toronto Accommodation Budget

For more details on members’ entitlements regarding travel, please consult the Rules governing members’ expenses. For details on entitlements for leaders' of opposition parties and their staff, view the rules on the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario's website (external link).

Expenses disclosed under hospitality/events include costs that the member or opposition leader incurs hosting events or guests. For example, a member or leader may have refreshments for people at their constituency office, or may host guests in the Legislative Assembly dining room. They may also host public events in their constituency, such as a barbecue, New Year’s levee, or skating party.

For more details about members’ entitlements regarding hospitality and events, please consult the Rules governing members’ expenses. For details on entitlements for leaders of opposition parties and their staff, view the rules on the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario's website (external link).

All expenses paid for travel, hospitality, meals, and accommodation will be reported if a payment was made out of the Legislative Assembly fund, excluding caucus appropriations. This includes payments made on behalf of a member and direct payments to suppliers.

Leaders of opposition parties claim expenses in their capacity as both leaders and as MPPs. Certain travel, meal, accommodation, and hospitality expenses are incurred by the member in their role of party leader, while others are incurred in their role of MPP. As different rules apply to members and opposition leaders, the expenses are tracked separately.

Different rules apply to expenses incurred in their role as leader of an opposition party. For more details, please consult the Rules governing members’ expenses.

Rules governing opposition leaders’ expenses are detailed on the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario’s website (external link). 

No, the disclosure of expenses made by members when conducting business on behalf of the government of Ontario is found at Travel, meal, and hospitality expenses (external link).

For questions regarding these expense disclosures and reports, please contact Financial Services, at 416-325-9489 or memberservices@ola.org.