New Westminster is en route to having a new travel and expense policy for mayor and councillors.
At its Jan. 27 meeting, council will consider a staff report that provides an updated travel and expense policy. Staff say the revised policy outlines the process for payment of expenditures when council members are representing the city, engaging in city business and attending educational opportunities such as workshops, seminars, training programs, conferences and conventions.
Some councillors and community members voiced concerns about council’s travel policy following Mayor Patrick Johnstone’s attendance at an international environmental conference in Dubai in December 2023.
The revised council travel policy is consistent with resolutions approved by a majority of council at its July 8 meeting. In a 3-2 vote, council approved a motion from Johnstone that included recommendations regarding internation travel, travel outside of B.C., sponsored travel, and reporting requirements to council of the value of participation from attending events by council members.
Shehzad Somji, the city’s chief financial officer, said the city’s travel and expense budget for mayor and council in 2025 is $56,561, excluding wages and benefits.
According to Somji, that budget includes $20,000 for travel and accommodations and $14,500 for conferences and seminars. The remainder of that budget is for council’s attendance at city-sponsored community events, other community events, and “other” expenses – as detailed in the city’s annual statement of financial information.
As per Monday’s report to council, eligible travel and expenses for council members includes: transportation, including economy airfare, mileage outside of the Lower Mainland, and car rentals when required at a destination; per diem allowances for meals and incidentals as defined in the city’s policy; accommodations at a discounted rate; and childcare.
What's in the policy?
Some details about what is included in the revised council travel and expense policy:
- Mayor and councillors may select the conferences and events they wish to attend, subject to the provisions of the policy. Conferences and seminars should be based on their relevance to the role and professional development of the council members.
- The mayor and each councillor is authorized to attend the annual events of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) convention, the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention, and the Lower Mainland Local Government Association (LMLGA) annual general meeting.
- Council members are limited to attending one conference annually outside of B.C., but within Canada each year, unless approved by council.
- Council members’ participation at certain conferences, events, and meetings (excluding the FCM, UBCM and LMLGA) which require overnight travel outside of B.C. requires a written summary in an open council meeting within three months of the completion of travel. This includes a summary of actual travel expenses incurred and a description of the participation, learnings, and value from participating in the event.
- International travel by members of council to attend conferences, events and meetings is subject to council approval and requires a summary of the request, including travel expenses related to attendance to be paid for by the city and a statement of expected value to be derived as a result of attendance at the function.
- Aside from the FCM, UBCM, and LMLGA, council attendance at “sponsored” conferences, events and meetings are subject to council approval.
- A member of council who wishes to be appointed as a director on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ board of directors must request the support of council annually. The council member must provide an estimate budget amount related to the incremental costs of serving on the board.
- Members of council who incur child-care expenses to attend an event or official function may expense the city to a maximum of $40 per day. Events include the FCM, UBCM, LMLGA and other local-government-related conventions, conferences, courses, or seminars approved by council in advance.
- Council members wishing to combine a business trip with personal travel may do so at their own expense. The traveller will be required to pay additional living and accommodation expenses that are not associated business travel. The city’s portion of the airfare shall be the lesser of the actual combined fare or the cost of a direct, return flight to/from the business destination, based on the lowest fare available on the date of booking.
- Ineligible expenses for council members include: overnight accommodation costs within Metro Vancouver, unless the council members are involved as a key member of the organization committee; spousal or partner attendance or travel costs; lost wages, income, or opportunity costs.
- Each council member must pay back any monies owed to the city within 30 calendar days of each year, or the amount owning will be deducted from the council member’s remuneration.
- Expense report summaries, including all eligible expenses, must be provided to the finance department twice year, in June and October. This is to ensure council members are aware of their actual expenses in relation to the budget.
Travel concerns
In late 2023, councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas, the two New Westminster Progressives on city council, expressed concern about council’s travel and expense policy following Johnstone’s attendance at the COP28 conference in Dubai.
In addition to voicing concerns at council meetings and in the media, they filed a complaint against Johnstone under the city’s Code of Conduct for council members. They alleged he had breached the Code of Conduct and Section 105 of the Community Charter when he attended the conference in Dubai and received complementary travel, meals, and accommodation.
In a September 2024 report to council, Jennifer Devins, the city’s ethics commissioner, concluded Johnstone had breached the Code of Conduct by receiving gifts or personal benefits connected with the performance of the duties of his office; this related to Johnstone’s business-class travel and five-star accommodations at the COP28 conference. She concluded a portion of “this gift” contravened the Local Government Act but deemed Johnstone’s contravention was “inadvertent and the result of an error in judgment made in good faith.”
At a Nov. 4 hearing on the issue, council voted 3-2 in support of Devins’ recommendation to have the mayor receive training on aspects of the Community Charter related to the acceptance of gifts.
Fontaine and Minhas opposed the ethics commissioner’s recommendation, preferring that council approve an additional requirement beyond what had been recommended by the ethics commissioner – that he donate $5,000 to the Don’t Go Hungry charitable organization.
