CBC Parliamentary reporter Kady O'Malley is reporting that government MPs will support a motion from Commons Liberals mandating more detailed disclosure of travel and hospitality expenses, along the lines of proactive disclosure procedures currently in place for federal cabinet ministers.

If the motion passes, this will be a solid step in the right direction.

The Liberals deserve credit for pushing MP expense accountability and keeping it in the public eye. Many of these recommendations were contained in the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's Accountability Act 2.0 proposal. The Commons Board of Internal Economy earlier moved to put more information online, in response to public pressure led by the CTF.

These reforms, and more, could have already been in place, were it not for partisan wrangling last year.

When Liberal leader Justin Trudeau moved, in June of 2013, for unanimous consent from all MPs to adopt many of the CTF’s recommendations, the NDP shot Trudeau’s motions down, one by one.

Trudeau wanted MPs to post expense reports online, every 90 days, in a user-friendly format on the Parliamentary web site. Trudeau wanted the Auditor General to audit the performance of the House of Commons every three years, and wanted a December 10^th deadline for ground rules to be struck, so the Auditor General could do the same job in the House that the Senate has asked him to do. For travel and hospitality expenses, Trudeau wanted MPs to follow the same disclosure rules as cabinet ministers – the same tough rules that enabled reporters to get their hands on Bev Oda’s $16 room service tab for orange juice. But the NDP said no to all of Trudeau’s proposals.

The Conservatives backed Trudeau’s motions. Treasury Board President Tony Clement said the government wants “expense accountability that currently exists for ministers to be expanded to all MPs.”

NDP members wanted committee hearings instead, hearings eventually agreed to by the government last fall in exchange for an early summer adjournment. But despite evidence from the Auditor General and the Information Commissioner, little progress was made on accountability, and the NDP's proposal to turn management of the Commons over to an independent agency went nowhere.

MPs need to go further, and mandate the Commons to post online all the documentation supporting MP expense claims, including contracts and receipts. Green Party MP Elizabeth May and independent MP Brent Rathgeber are doing it already. MPs also need to open their books to regular audits by the Auditor General, and make their financial information subject to the Access to Information Act. Currently MPs have placed themselves and their financial dealings above the law by exempting themselves from the Access to Information Act.