Leslie, a former army commander, became the focus earlier this year of Conservative government attacks after becoming eligible and claiming his moving expenses under a DND benefit program called Intended Place of Residence, or IPR.
It pays for the moving and associated costs of Canadian Forces members when they leave the military. In Leslie’s case, he moved from one Ottawa home to another, a process termed by the DND as an “in-city” move.
“We do know annually in recent years there have been approximately 300 final moves classified as in-city,” according to DND documents obtained by the Citizen
DND could not provide a breakdown of the ranks of those 300 who moved within their own cities in the last year.
But the documents note that the bulk of IPR costs are for real estate fees, which are based on the sale value of the home. Those fees are paid directly by DND to the real estate broker.
The Liberals described the original release of the information about Leslie in February as a political smear orchestrated by the Conservatives eager to undercut the retired general’s political ambitions.
Leslie is an adviser to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and hopes to be selected as the federal Liberal candidate for Ottawa-Orléans.
Leslie’s supporters said that the initial documents about the general’s move were leaked by the Conservatives to the news media. They were part of a larger package of DND documents which outlined how a number of other generals also received the same benefits but those files were not leaked to the media.
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson at the time called Leslie’s moving costs “grossly excessive.”
Nicholson, however, didn’t mention the in-city moves by other military personnel. Those included five other moves within Ottawa involving generals, including the $59,600 spent to relocate the still-serving Maj.-Gen. Mike Day.
Nicholson also didn’t mention his department had paid nearly $40,000 to move former brigadier-general Dan Menard to the United Arab Emirates after he was court-martialled for having sex with a subordinate and trying to cover it up. Menard pleaded guilty to the two counts of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline under the National Defence Act.
Leslie’s expenses were the highest of the generals.
The DND documents indicate the annual in-city moves cost about $11.1 million a year, or on average, around $37,000 each.
Other DND documents show that on April 20, 2012, Leslie was given approval by DND to apply for the IPR. “There is no minimum distance you have to move (you can move next door),” he was told.
Asked why Nicholson had singled out Leslie, the minister’s spokeswoman, Johanna Quinney, responded in an email: “This benefit was meant to help Forces’ members when they retire – but the senior Liberal adviser’s use of this privilege to spend $72,000 on a move down the road is not in the spirit of the program.
“Taxpayers expect their money to be spent wisely and as such, we have restricted eligibility to only those moving more than 40 kilometres,” she added.
In September, the government announced that DND’s IPR policy would be changed. The policy now applies to those who move more than 40 kilometres from their current location. Previously, there was no minimum distance requirement for a subsidized final move.
Those military personnel who already had their in-city moves underway or planned at the time the policy was changed will still be entitled to full benefits under previous policy, DND has noted.
Exceptions under the new policy can also be made for compassionate reasons. The Canadian Forces has mailed letters to military retirees confirming they will not be affected by the policy change.
When reached for this story, Leslie did not comment. However, in the past he has denied any wrongdoing and characterized the issuing of his move documents as a personal attack by the Conservatives.
“After moving homes 18 times in the service of my country, I was glad to make a new house in Ottawa our new, permanent home,” he wrote on his website. “Each step of the process is overseen by a third party supplier, and independent approvals for every expenditure are required, as directed by the Treasury Board of Canada. Costs are paid directly to the suppliers (real estate agents , movers etc) by the Department of National Defence.”
Military moves by the numbers
$72,000: Amount Andrew Leslie billed the Department of National Defence for a move within the city of Ottawa.
$37,000: Average cost of in-city moves. The total is about $11.1 million a year.
$59,600: Cost to move still-serving Maj.-Gen. Mike Day to relocate within the same city.
$40,000: Approximate cost to move former brigadier-general Dan Menard to the United Arab Emirates after he was court-martialled for having sex with a subordinate and trying to cover it up.
40 km: Minimum distance a move must be to be reimbursed by DND as of September. Previously, there was no minimum distance requirement for a subsidized final move.
Original Article
Source: canada.com/
Author: By David Pugliese
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