The travel costs for the spouses of Members of Parliament have been revealed to top $4.5 million.
According to Global News, who did the digging for this figure, “Those costs come through the use of what are known as designated travellers — individuals with whom MPs can share their privilege of expenses-paid travel when the designated traveller represents the MP at an event or when the family is being reunited.”
According to the data disseminated, most of the travel expenses were for spouses of MPs in Western Canada travelling east. Furthermore, most of these spouses were married to Conservatives.
Out of all MPs, six claimed nearly a fifth of travel expenses for their spouses, a cost totalling $737,199.51 for taxpayers.
The number one claimant was Conservative MP Todd Doherty, who claimed $142,236 in travel expenses for his wife over the last four years.
Second was Conservative MP David Yurdigan, who claimed $137,422 for the cost of his wife’s travel.
The third was an independent. Wilson-Raybould claimed $125,754 for trips by her husband between Vancouver and Ottawa.
Conservative MP Mel Arnold claimed the fourth-highest amount for his wife at $121,138 for his wife.
Conservative MP Cathy McLeod claimed $110,035 for her husband, making her fifth for travel claims.
Finally, late Conservative MP Mark Warawa came sixth, claiming $100,612.38.
While these numbers seem high, however, some government officials believe this number is in-line with former governments, as every year most MPs from the Western provinces have to travel to Ottawa and isn’t unusual for spouses to accompany them.
“I was pleased to see that the numbers are pretty much in line historically. We could debate whether we could save more money but at least we’re not seeing this trend where every year it’s getting more and more expensive,” said Aaron Wudrick, federal director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Join and support independent free thinkers!
We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.
Remind me next month
To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy
