Apparently it's true confession time in the B.C. legislature these days.
Hands up all those politicians who took a vacation with their family on the public dime that they'd like to come clean about.
For all the talk about transparency, accountability and cautionary tales of politicians who were less than forthcoming about what they billed to the public, there's a lot of ink still being spilled on the topic.
The most recent example is Speaker Linda Reid, who took her husband to a commonwealth conference in South Africa at taxpayers' expense, where they were photographed doing important government work like petting lions and giraffes.
Isn't it amazing that work so integral to democracy never gets scheduled in Winnipeg in January? Not to be outdone, deputy speaker Ray Chouchan was soon making his own confession to taking his wife on the same junket, adding Reid had told him the expense was okay.
Expense confessions have proved a remarkably bipartisan activity.
There are regulations governing what kind of travel politicians can bill. But the regulations are lax and the loopholes so large a 747 can be - and frequently is - flown through them.
Politicians who have taken advantage of the rules know it is wrong. But they have come to consider it a perk of the job and adopted a "buy now, pay when caught" mentality.
It's time the rules were tightened. But don't hold your breath.
Leaving it to the collective conscience and moral judgment of those we elect has so far proved remarkably ineffective.
