House ethics committee may probe Trudeau’s Jamaica holiday. Why?

The House of Commons ethics committee will debate Wednesday whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s holiday in Jamaica warrants a study.

The committee is set to meet at 10:30 a.m. Eastern at the request of Conservative MPs Michael Barrett, Jacques Gourde, Damien Kurek and Bloc Quebecois MP Rene Villemure.

In a letter addressed to the committee’s chair, the MPs said that Trudeau’s vacation to the Caribbean nation raises “red flags” under Canada’s ethics rules, and that the committee should meet on the matter despite MPs being on holiday break until Jan. 29.

“Serious questions have been raised over the Prime Minister’s trip to Jamaica and if it breaks Canada’s ethics laws,” they said.

“Canadians struggling in a cost-of-living crisis that scraped by this holiday season want answers on the Prime Minister’s vacation, and rightfully so.”

The Tories have called for an investigation into Trudeau’s trip in Jamaica with his three children and former spouse Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau.

Trudeau returned to Ottawa to face similar criticism for staying at an oceanfront villa in Jamaica at no cost, as reported by the National Post. Rooms go for around $9,300 per night, according to the resort’s website.

Prospect Estate and Villas located near Ocho Rios is owned by businessman Peter Green. The Green family has known the Trudeaus for decades, and Trudeau has faced criticisms and questions about stays at the same resort in the past.

Had Trudeau paid out of pocket, a nine-night stay would appear to be worth roughly $84,000.

In a separate letter to interim ethics commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein, Barrett said the resort stay was “not the equivalent of staying at a friend’s home, in a guest house on a wealthy friend’s property, or even a personal