Mint head Dingwall resigns, wants to clear his name

The president of the Royal Canadian Mint has resigned in a bid to clear his name after reports of high expenses in his office. Government documents indicate David Dingwall and his top aides racked up total office expenses of more than $740,000 last year.

Included were over $130,000 dollars in foreign and domestic travel, $14,000 in meals and $11,000 in hospitality.

The mint also appears to have picked up a $1,400 tab for Dingwall's membership in an Ottawa-area golf club, and $1,500 in membership fees in the Nova Scotia barristers' society.

In a written statement Wednesday, Dingwall said "all of the expenses were related to my responsibilities and each of them were disclosed to the Board and will stand up to scrutiny as completely appropriate to my role as President of the Mint."

He said he asked the mint's board to put together an independent committee to review the expenses. Dingwall said that because of the high profile nature of the stories surrounding the expenses and the time required to complete the investigation, he felt now was the proper time to resign.

Conservative MP Brian Pallister said Dingwall owes the public an explanation.

"It's kind of shocking," Pallister said Tuesday. "This is a continuation of an unfortunate trend among Liberal patron appointees to show relatively little respect for the people who pay their bills."

But a mint official said all of the expenses were approved by the corporation's chief financial officer and board of directors.

Pamela Aung-Thin also noted that the Crown corporation went from losing money to earning a profit within eight months of Dingwall's appointment.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said a Dingwall resignation doesn't address the larger problem of a Liberal "culture of waste and mismanagement."

David Dingwall was a former Liberal cabinet minister under Jean Chrétien.