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Canadians expect a certain level of transparency and accountability

Clarkson is singled out in government records because she is the only one to regularly claim more than $100,000 under the Temporary Help Services line item, which sources with direct knowledge of the program have told the Post is a line item representing basic office expenses and staffing. (Once a supplier charges more than $100,000, they must be identified in the government’s public accounts.)

Added up, Clarkson’s expense claims in that category total more than $1.1 million since 2005. However, sources say she has filed additional expense claims under other line items, which, being less than $100,000 per year are not listed publicly. A source with direct knowledge of the program has told the Post that Clarkson has in the past vehemently opposed the notion of the former governors general being required to disclose their expenses.

Clarkson has not responded to the Post’s repeated requests for comment over the last week, but in an op-ed published in The Globe and Mail on Friday she defended her spending.

“Last year, I fulfilled 182 commitments, many of them public events,” she wrote. “I gave 16 speeches with no honorarium or fees, and 10 pieces of writing for no fee. All of this was related to my life as Canada’s 26th governor-general, and all of this came to me at the request of Canadians.”

Rideau Hall has indicated its review will be more comprehensive than simply looking at the issue of disclosure. “As stated by the Prime Minister, this program will undergo a thorough review in collaboration with Government to ensure that reimbursements are aligned with values of transparency and accountability,” said a statement Monday to the Post from Natalie Babin Dufresne, Rideau Hall’s director of communications.

The review could also look at what types of expenses are reasonable to claim, and whether there should be any type of sunset clause on the ability to claim expenses. If the expenses can be claimed indefinitely, governors general appointed at a young age (such as Schreyer, appointed at 43 years old, and Jean, appointed at 48) may be filing substantial office and travel expenses for decades after they retire.

— with files from Marie-Danielle Smith and The Canadian Press.

• Email: bplatt@postmedia.com | Twitter: btaplatt