Conservatives call for ethics probe into Justin Trudeau's free Jamaican holiday stay

The federal Conservatives are asking the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner to probe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's vacation in Jamaica and how his staff handled the detail that he stayed for free.

Conservative MP and ethics critic Michael Barrett sent a letter to Konrad von Finckenstein on Tuesday asking whether he knew Trudeau was staying at a luxury estate owned by a family friend.

Barrett said the vacation is «not the equivalent of staying at a friend's home,» calling it instead a gift with commercial value.

The Canadian Press has not independently verified a National Post report that said Trudeau vacationed at a luxury estate owned by longtime family friend Peter Green. Green's Prospect Estate rents villas for between US$1,100 and US$7,000 a night during the holiday season.

«I recognize that those of us in public office have pre-existing friendships, and it is not completely uncommon to stay at a friend's home over a holiday,» Barrett said in this letter.

«And I also recognize that Justin Trudeau, as a child of wealth and privilege, is likely to have wealthy and privileged friends.»

Barrett said the fact Trudeau was gifted such an expensive vacation «could reasonably be seen» as being intended to influence a government head.

Trudeau's office on Wednesday declined to comment on the Conservatives' concerns.

A spokesperson said in a statement that «the Prime Minister and his family were staying with family friends at no cost.»

That is slightly different from last week, when the spokesman said the family was staying at a location owned by family friends, not that they were staying with the family.

But that too was different from what the Prime Minister's Office said before the trip took place, when it said the family