Imagine walking into your boss’s office and telling her that you drove 80,000 kilometres last year in your personal vehicle for work-related travel.

Without asking to see any paperwork to back that up, she replies “okie dokie,” pulls out a calculator and then writes you a cheque for $34,800, based on a reimbursement policy of 43.5 cents per kilometre travelled.

You then thank your boss and say, “oh, and here are my gas receipts for those trips … they total $6,119.”

Your boss says “okie dokie” again and writes you a second cheque.

The absurd example above would never happen in the real world, but it’s basically what happens when provincial politicians are reimbursed for their mileage — no records or evidence is necessary.

The amounts above are from MLA Jessica Littlewood’s vehicle expenses for 2017-18 and help demonstrate why the rules for provincial politicians, including the rules for cabinet ministers, need to change.

And let’s be abundantly clear for a moment. When a provincial politician uses their personal vehicle for work purposes, such as driving to a meeting with a constituent, they deserve to receive a fair reimbursement for their bills.

Most workplaces give an employee a reimbursement on a per-kilometre basis. For example, if someone drives 100 kilometres in their personal vehicle for work purposes, an employer might reimburse them at a rate of, say, 36 cents per kilometre.

This approach is meant to cover the employee’s gas, wear and tear on their vehicle, and a share of other related expenses, such as oil changes.

Provincial politicians currently receive 43.5 cents per kilometre travelled, but they can also hand in their gas receipts for the same trip, as well as bills for oil changes, tire rotations and car cleaning. Thus, they’re allowed to double dip — it’s completely within the rules.

Needless to say, being able to hand in their gas receipts for the same trip should be discontinued. That’s something the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has been recommending for a long time, as it’s just not fair for taxpayers.

At the same time, MLAs should have to keep track of where they’re going and who they’re meeting with — just like the government expects everyone else to do for tax purposes.

In terms of the rules for cabinet ministers, those too need a tweak.

Currently, cabinet ministers don’t have to use their personal vehicles for work; they’re allowed to take a government-owned vehicle, seven days a week — and the fuel is paid for by taxpayers.

If we consider cabinet ministers as being akin to private-sector executives, then it’s not completely out of line to provide them with a vehicle to use.

But what’s troublesome about the situation is that Premier Rachel Notley specifically brought in a carbon tax to deter Albertans from driving their vehicles.

How does the carbon tax deter Notley and her cabinet from personal driving if they’re not paying the carbon tax when they’re driving around in a government vehicle that is filled up using tax dollars?

Recently, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation filed information requests with the Alberta government for details on cabinet ministers’ vehicle usage. In 2017-18, taxpayers spent more than $40,000 on fuel for cabinet vehicles, and there doesn’t appear to be a single cent reimbursed by provincial ministers. Thus, they don’t feel the pain the carbon tax is designed to illicit.

The situation reminds one of the famous line from George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

The carbon tax is meant to deter all Albertans from driving … unless of course, you’re a cabinet minister.

Again, it’s reasonable for tax dollars to be used to pay for politicians to travel around the province for work-related purposes. But right now, the situation is just fuelling well-justified anger. 

This column appeared in the August 4, 2018 edition of the Calgary Herald