'Inappropriate': Critics question Trudeau's guest list on Bahamas getaway

Prime Minister Justin Trudeaubrought along a fellow MP andthe Liberal Party president on his family vacation in the Bahamas to theprivate island property ofbillionaire spiritual leader, theAga Khan.

The PMO confirmed that Liberal MP Seamus O'Regan and his husband Steve Doussis, as well as Liberal Party President Anna Gainey and her husband Tom Pitfield,were guests on the family trip. The story and new details were first reported by The National Post.

PMO spokesman Cameron Ahmadtold CBC News that no other MPs or designated public office holders were on the trip, and that none travelled on Challenger government planes.

"As the prime minister said yesterday, we are of course happy to answer any questions the [ethics] Commissioner may have. Beyond that, we are not in a position to comment further," he said.

O'Regan, a former television host and long-time friend of Trudeau's, said he flew on his own and did not travel with the prime minister.

• Ethics watchdog considers investigation
• Trudeau spent vacation at Aga Khan's island home
• PM reimburses $38K in personal expenses

"It was personal time, private time. When I returned to Canada I went to the commissioner's office and voluntarily disclosed the trip," he told CBC.

He said he reported the trip to the commissioner's office on Jan. 8, days after he returned home and after media reports on Trudeau's trip.O'Regan declined to comment on how he or the prime ministermadetheir way to Bell Island, and saidhe travelled from there on to Cubafor an extended vacation.

'It's inappropriate'

NDP ethics criticAlexandreBoulericesaid he initially tookTrudeau'sexplanation at his word that it was a family vacation. But hesaid the latest developments suggest it was something much different and it"doesn't look good."

"It's less and less a private meeting with a friend of the family and more like a lobbyist trying to get something from theTrudeaugovernment," he said. "And it's inappropriate."

Today,Conservative ethics critic BlaineCalkinssent a letter calling for an investigation into the transportation and hospitality extended on the trip.If Trudeau'srelationship is so close with the Aga Khan that he is deemed a "friend" under the rules, then the prime ministerwas obliged to have an ethics screen andrecusehimself from any discussions involving the Aga Khan's foundation, his letter argues.

Calls for ethics investigation

"In light of the many unanswered questions and the serious concerns that they raise, I think it is important that you open a full investigation," Calkins says.

Earlier this week, Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson's office said it was considering an investigation into Trudeau'sholidayafter receiving a complaint from Conservative leadership candidate Andrew Scheer.

The Saskatchewan MP wrote a letter Monday asking Dawson to rule on whether Trudeau's stay on the Aga Khan's private island is a gift that violates the Conflict of Interest Act.

PrinceKarimAga Khan IV is the hereditary spiritual leader of the world's 15 millionShiaIsmailiMuslims and a multimillionaire philanthropist.

Government funds foundation

The federal government has contributed millions to the Aga Khan Foundation to help fund its international development projects. The most recent grant was a five-year, $55-million project to improve health services in Afghanistan that was announced in December 2015under the Trudeau government.

Scheer pointed to Section 14.1 of the act which stipulates an MP should not accept "directly or indirectly, any gift or other benefit ... that might reasonably be seen to have been given to influence the [MP] in the exercise of a duty or function of his or her office."

Asked about the trip Tuesday, Trudeau insisted it was a private trip and that the Agha Khan is a long-time family friendwho served as a pallbearer at his own father's funeral.

"This was our family vacation, and I will answer any other questions that the ethics commissioner has for me," he said. "And I'm sure we will have more discussion about this in the coming weeks."

According to the Open and Accountable Governmentguide Trudeau brought in shortly after taking office, ministers and parliamentary secretaries must not accept sponsored travel on chartered or private aircraft except inexceptional circumstances, and "only with the prior approval of the Conflict of Interest and EthicsCommissioner. "