NDP leadership candidate Steve Ashton released his Leadership Contestant Personal Disclosure Questionnaire on Monday, and urged rival Wab Kinew to do the same.

This came after Ashton released his income tax summaries from the last five years last week, where he also encouraged Kinew to follow his lead.

“It’s just not good enough in 2017 not to be transparent,” Ashton said. “When I released the information on Thursday, I encouraged Wab to do the same. That was Thursday, and it’s now Monday. I’m not sure what the reason for the delay is. Whoever is the leader of the NDP party has to have a clear position on transparency.”

A spokesperson for Kinew’s campaign said he has been up front and transparent throughout the leadership process, and plans to release his income statement next week.

But Ashton thinks income tax statements alone do not give the full story.

“Income tax gives you one sense of who an elected official is, but it only covers certain aspects,” Ashton said.

“I think it’s legitimate to look at land holdings, legal issues, memberships and organizations, and whether they have been part of other political parties or organizations.”

All of that information, along with employment records, social media accounts, professional misconduct, and articles that have been written by the candidates are all questions on the NDP’s leadership questionnaire.

Ashton believes it is important for the NDP to show their transparency to contrast what he finds to be a lack of transparency from Premier Brian Pallister.

“One thing I’ve learned in politics is that people expect you to be transparent,” Ashton said. “This is about as transparent as it gets, and I urge Wab Kinew to do the same thing, because at the next election in 2020, I think this will be one of the distinguishing factors between the NDP and Brian Pallister’s PCs.”

jfriesen@postmedia.com