Thank you, Sheref Sabawy
In a caucus rife with irresponsiblility and fiscal carelessness, Sheref Sabawy (Mississauga-Erin Mills), my very own MPP, has demonstrated rare moral backbone.
Earlier this month came the disturbing public discovery that 20 PC MPPs, all of whom live well within driving distance of Queen’s Park, have billed the taxpayer more than $120,000 in downtown Toronto hotel costs over the past three years alone. This includes every one of the six MPPs from Mississauga.
Nina Tangri (Mississauga-Streetsville) was the worst offender. She somehow racked up $18,976 in hotel expenses, the second highest on the complete list. Silvia Gualtieri (Mississauga East-Cooksville) was next, billing us $3,177, followed by Natalia Kusendova-Bashta (Mississauga Centre) with $2,059, Deepak Anand (Mississauga-Malton) at $1,512, and Rudy Cuzzetto (Mississauga Lakeshore) with $527.
But since 2023, Sabawy has only expensed $337.36 in downtown Toronto hotel stays. That’s literally a single night. The Legislature doesn’t disclose specific dates of stay beyond the month or reasons beyond “special accommodation,” but I think just one night seems perfectly reasonable. Maybe there was a particularly awful thunderstorm, or a big crash on the Gardiner, and Sheref had an early morning session the next day.
Either way, compare Sabawy’s $337 to the actions of now-disgraced, now-ex Minister of Tourism Stan Cho (Willowdale). Public disclosure reports show he charged taxpayers more than $16,000 in “special accommodation” expenses. But that evidently wasn’t enough for Cho, who charged another $100,000 to his riding association for meetings that just so happened to take place at luxury restaurants, lavish hotels, and even private suites at the Rogers Centre (it’s important to note that, contrary to common belief, riding associations are not only funded by donors but also receive considerable subsidies from Election Ontario – AKA public, AKA our, money).
So, really, from the bottom of my heart, I thank MPP Sabawy. I dislike the PCs with a passion, but the integrity he’s shown deserves equal praise.
