Canada’s senators called for $7.2 million in spending in 2023, an increase of almost 30 per cent from the previous year.
The total includes nearly $4 million for travel, $2.1 million for living expenses, $1 million for office expenses and more than $100,000 for hospitality, according to a CTVNews.ca analysis of 101 expenses. senators.
The $7.2 million in public money covers costs large and small, such as flights, hotels, books, meals, gifts, stationery, payments to consultants and thousands of dollars to rent art. It does not include costs such as senators’ salaries, full-time staff, administrative staff and committee expenses.
“Since 2015, there have been significant increases in senators’ spending,” Kathy Brock, a public policy professor at Queen’s University, told CTVNews.ca. “With the movement toward more independent senators who come from different backgrounds and different orientations toward government, they come to the Senate and want to play a more active role.”
Those who spend the most in the Senate
Four senators spent twice the average of $71,500, led by Canadian Senatorial Caucus leader Scott Tannas at $235,734.18, Senate Conservative leader Donald Plett at $217,596.28, unaffiliated senator Manitoba Marilou McPhedran with $193,881.47 and recently retired Nunavut Senator Dennis Glen Patterson with $181,204.47.
McPhedran, who is not part of a Senate caucus, had the highest individual spending of any senator not in a leadership, official or facilitator role.
“Simply put, to carry out my parliamentary agenda effectively as an unaffiliated senator without any of the support that senators who belong to a group/bank enjoy, my expenses (always within the budget allocated to me) are the outcome of the management decisions I make and the legislative priorities I advocate for,” McPhedran said in a written statement to CTVNews.ca.
While many senators employ three full-time people whose salaries are not disclosed, McPhedran only has one.
“Inter-office comparisons therefore put me at a disadvantage as I am less reliant on full-time salaried staff and have adopted a deliberately cost-effective model of hiring students and subject matter experts on what are called ‘external’ contracts.” McPhedran said via email. “I recognize that I may not be a typical senator and that I may be taking a more challenging approach to being a senator, but this is what I believe is my optimal public service.”
The 15 conservative senators in the Red Chamber spent the most, on average, $94,203.86 each. The 16 members of the Senate Progressive group were the most frugal with an average of $62,164.81 each.
“The opposition in the Senate is the only caucus/group that takes seriously its role in keeping the government on a war footing in the Upper House,” Senate Conservative Leader Donald Plett said in an email to CTVNews. AC. “As leader of the opposition, I work diligently to ensure that the Trudeau government is held accountable for its decisions and have not hesitated to call out scandals and general incompetence.”
Only eight senators spent less than half the average amount, excluding those who began or ended their positions in 2023. Only two of them spent less than $10,000: progressive Senator Peter Harder with $5,718.24 and independent Peter Boehm with $6,963, 69.
About 40 senators also spent at least $96,000 to rent, move and install artwork from the Canada Council for the Arts in the 2023-2024 fiscal year (which runs from April 1 to March 31), according to a Senate spokesperson . Independent senator René Cormier has the biggest art contracts starting in 2023 and will spend $12,480 to display 10 works of art over four years.
“Senator Cormier is proud to support Canadian artists by leasing their artwork through the Canada Council for the Arts Art Bank, using funds approved for this use by the Finance and Acquisitions Directorate,” the office said. New Brunswick senator in a written statement to CTVNews.ca. “This support represents a significant investment in promoting Canadian culture and nurturing artistic talent, consistent with the Senator’s commitment to enriching Canada’s cultural landscape.”
Roles and geography impact spending
Brock says the big differences in spending can come down to geography, the active role each senator plays and how they manage their office finances.
“With some of the big spenders, I noticed that they take more people on their trips than other people,” Brock added. “You see a lot of microspending, like six dollars for this. Things under $20 came to mind; those don’t add up to big prices, but they do show a change in the way people think.” “They should be reimbursed for any expenses related to their work to a greater extent, I believe, than in the past.”
With higher travel costs to Ottawa, senators from the western territories and provinces spent more on average than those from Atlantic Canada, Ontario and Quebec. There were also many more weeks of in-person work in the Senate in 2023, which raised travel costs.
Those in leadership roles, officials, and facilitators generally also had higher expenses and often covered expenses that benefited other caucus members.
“[T]The leadership office also manages several administrative functions on behalf of the Senate’s second-largest caucus,” Canadian Senators Caucus leader and Senate top spender Scott Tannas explained in a statement to CTVNews.ca. “These include an office research that supports [Canadian Senators Group] senators, additional staff beyond the normal complement assigned to non-leader senators, and computer information management systems. All of which impacts my budget and my expenses.”
A ‘spit into the ocean’ or an ‘abuse’ of public funds?
CTVNews.ca calculated Senate expenses for calendar year 2023 from quarterly data proactively disclosed available on the Senate website. The figures represent expenses processed and paid in 2023, although some may have been incurred in previous years. Overall, the $7.2 million in spending was up from more than $5.6 million in 2022, an increase of 27.6 percent.
Art rentals and other office, travel and hospitality expenses come from an annual budget of more than $250,000 per senator. There is a limit of $350 to purchase office decorations. Senators are only entitled to cover living expenses, such as meals and accommodation, if they reside more than 100 kilometers from Parliament Hill. Senators also received a raise in April, with their annual salaries increasing by $8,500 to $178,100.
Incorporating all costs, such as salaries and administrative staff, the Senate’s total planned spending for fiscal year 2023-2024 was nearly $127 million in taxpayer funds, and is expected to reach nearly $135 million in 2024-2025.
Nelson Wiseman, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, points out that all senators were within their budgets and said their spending is just a “spit in the ocean” for a government that spends billions.
“So my general impression is, look, they have a $250,000 budget, whatever they want to do with it is perfectly fine,” Wiseman told CTVNews.ca. “I’m more concerned about the quality of what we’re getting and, in fact, this Senate is the best Senate we’ve ever had…certainly in the history of the last few years, I would say 90 to 100 years. And that’s because “We actually have people who act more independently.”
Duff Conacher is director and co-founder of Democracy Watch, a nonprofit organization that advocates for democratic reform and government accountability.
“Everything is a drop in the bucket until all of a sudden it adds up to the whole bucket,” Conacher told CTVNews.ca. “You can’t abuse public money just because small amounts of public money are being abused.”
The Senate, known as the Red Chamber because of its decoration, is the upper house of Canada’s Parliament and has the power to propose laws and reject bills passed by the elected House of Commons. Unlike the American Senate, the 105 members of the Canadian Senate are not elected, but appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister, similar to the British House of Lords. Senators serve until mandatory retirement at age 75. There are currently nine vacant positions.
Senate expenses came under intense scrutiny a decade ago when it was revealed that several senators were claiming travel and living expenses for which they were not eligible. The scandal prompted rule changes that increased spending transparency. In an effort to make the Senate more independent and non-partisan, the federal Liberals changed the appointment process and removed senators from the Liberal caucus.
“I think senators are much more aware of the need to adopt responsible behavior, so that the Senate doesn’t go through such an embarrassing period when it seemed like one person after another had been caught doing something,” Brock said. “The Senate is changing now, I think it’s trying to find its new identity, essentially, and in some ways has moved more toward a culture of political activism rather than being a house of sober reflections.”
Conacher believes Canada should abolish the Senate, saying senators’ use of public money for political activism and pet projects lacks “democratic legitimacy.”
“Senators still have the power to spend money on essentially anything they believe is related to their duties as senators, and Senate rules define their role very broadly to include anything that has to do with public or political issues.” Conacher explained. “It’s just an undemocratic travesty that senators are in this position to do that and call attention to issues at their whims.”