Liberal Cabinet Ministers should abide by the standards they set for the previous government

Toronto: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation commented today on questionable expenses incurred by Economic Development Minister Joe Cordiano and Health Minister George Smitherman.

"Using taxpayer dollars for personal expenses is unacceptable," said Tasha Kheiriddin, CTF Ontario Director. "With all the attention being paid to ethics in politics these days, it is appalling that this kind of thing is still going on."

Financial donors to Ontario riding associations of political parties receive tax credits of up to 75% of what they give. The expenses claimed by Ministers Cordiano and Smitherman include theatre tickets, dinners, suits and delegate fees for political conventions.

"There is a double standard here. When Conservatives Cam Jackson and Chris Stockwell ran up personal expenses on the public tab while in government several years ago, they were pilloried by the Liberal opposition. Now that the Liberals are in power, they should live by the same rules and take their heads out of the public trough," said Kheiriddin.