If there is a subject that makes elected officials quiver, it is their personal expense accounts. They can be a murky area, fraught with potential danger.

Every elected body has different rules and regulations for reimbursement of permitted expenses. The definition of what is allowed can vary substantially from a council to a legislature to parliament.

Canadian politicians have been mired in a controversy over their expenses probably since the system began, whenever that was. Sometimes there has been outright fraud and attempts to scam the system. Sometimes it is somebody indulging in petty theft assuming nobody will ever catch up with them. Sometimes it is an individual who quietly pads the numbers, puts in a fake restaurant bill or something equally stupid. Sometimes an honest mistake.

The constant is that usually they are caught. The checks and balances for most elected bodies are rigorous. And there is always the spectre of members of the public observing, snapping, and/or recording their elected representatives in public—or, even more ominously, in a private setting.

When an elected member is discovered and the facts prove that something inappropriate was done, the recriminations are swift and severe. Many members of the public are convinced—incorrectly—that their elected officials are all slurping from the trough. Elected officials in Canada are not particularly well paid for the hours they put in, and often have modest or even no pension plans.

There are exceptions, of course.

The usual plea upon being caught is: a) the rules weren't clear about what was allowed to be reimbursed; b) my staff did it and I didn't know, ever though I signed the expense form; c) oops. Silly mistake. Never happened before.

The problem for the elected person is that the public seizes upon this (usually) petty theft as proof of the larger conspiracy of elected officials to rip off the public purse.

Anyone who has served in public office knows that is not true. If somebody ever figured out the hourly wage that elected officials are paid, there would be a rush by the Canadian Labor Congress to fight for these poor, underpaid workers who slave away, often late into night.

I won't get into the salary/stipend debate here, or the squirming and fear by so many elected people to raise their own salaries from time to time; my views on that are well known. But broadly speaking, public officials should not have to dip into their own pocket to serve. They should be fairly reimbursed for work-related travel, expenses and constituency costs.

The rules should be clear. There should be no ambiguity. Once the policy is set, senior staff should administer it. Payments should be prompt. And without controversy.

As for the few people who try to steal, there should be legal action when appropriate. The court of public opinion will have its own verdict.