Scott Stinson: Ontario MPP in new spending controversy after riding association spent almost $100K on his meals, hotels

Days after he resigned from the Doug Ford cabinet over thousands of dollars in Toronto hotel room expenses, Ontario PC MPP Stan Cho is facing new allegations of dining out on the public dime.

The Willowdale MPP billed almost $100,000 to his riding association in food and beverage expenses over a three-year period, according to Global News. Much of the spending took place outside his riding in the north end of the city.

Cho also billed thousands more for hotels and flights between 2023 and 2025, which would be unusual expenses for a local riding association to cover, as it would be unlikely that the MPP would be doing constituency work while away from the riding.

All of the expenses were certified by the riding’s Chief Financial Officer and submitted to Elections Ontario’s compliance division, Global News reported.

Riding associations raise money by soliciting donations from supporters, but under Ontario law they also receive a per-vote subsidy, so a portion of their funding comes from taxpayers.

Cho resigned as Tourism Minister on Friday, a few days after it was revealed that he spent more than $16,000 on Toronto hotel rooms despite living just a few kilometres from Queen’s Park.

The MPP originally said he would pay back any of those hotel stays that didn’t meet the “spirit” of Ontario legislature rules that allow local members to bill for accommodation in “unusual or special circumstances” like a severe weather event. He subsequently said he would pay all the hotel expenses back, but then resigned after admitting that the decision to stay in hotels had been a mistake.

“On late nights I made a choice that was easier for me,” Cho wrote in his resignation letter. “I did not stop to ask how it would look to a person in my riding working a double shift.”

Late-night sessions of the legislature are relatively rare, and neither Cho nor the Ford government have explained in detail how the former minister came to work so many late nights.

Another 19 PC MPPs representing Toronto-area ridings have been ordered to pay back similar hotel expenses, which Premier Ford criticized as “totally unacceptable.” His government has also moved to eliminate the “special circumstances” hotel expense provision entirely. Opposition parties have said they will cooperate to remove it, but want the government to release more details about the hotel room expenses first.

At a news conference on Monday to address the province’s response to wildfires in the north, Ford said again that the hotel expenses were unacceptable. The Premier did not specifically address Cho’s riding association expenses, but said he “did the right thing” in resigning from cabinet.

Ford did not directly answer a question on whether he has asked other Toronto-area MPPs to resign from cabinet or the PC caucus in relation to the hotel expenses that they charged, saying instead that they would pay that money, which totalled more than $120,000, back.

“If you guys think for a second that I’m happy about this, you’re wrong,” Ford told reporters. “It’s unacceptable.” 

The hotel expense controversy comes after a spring sitting of the legislature that was dominated in its later stages by questions over the government’s brief ownership of a private jet that was purchased for Ford’s travels. The province purchased the used luxury plane for $28.9-million, but sold it back for the same amount after a public outcry.