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MP Expense Spending

Posted on 07 July 2009

The Toronto Star has been running a few articles recently about their efforts to get detailed information on the expenses the elected MPs in Ottawa have been charging the taxpayers. Apparently, the government only releases the total amount the MPs spend without the details of what the MPs spent the money on. The expense totals The Star posted for 33 of the MPs who refused to divulge their details ranged from $2 to more than $300,000. (http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/654005)

The year ended March 31, 2008 showed a total expense claim of $127,850,218 by all the MPs combined which is 42% higher than the year ended march 31, 2001.

Of the thirty-seven MPs contacted in the past several weeks, just four agreed to disclose the detailed information on specific expenses requested by the Toronto Star.

Today the Star is running an article on Michelle Simson, the Liberal MP for Scarborough Southwest who has posted a detailed report on her website of the expenses she has charged the taxpayers for the period from the October election to the fiscal year end on March 31, 2009. (http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/661862) To date, she is the only MP who has provided the public with a detailed report on expenses, and as far as I’m concerned the only one who deserves a vote in the next election.

The vast majority of MPs who are supposed to be running our country, and we are paying to do so, don’t feel it’s necessary to explain to the public what expenses they are charging us for nor how much they are charging us for them! I was a sales rep for 20 years and was able to charge my employer for my expenses but I had to provide a detailed report on what, where, who, where and how much my expenses were in order to get reimbursed. Since we employ these MPs, we should be able to find out what they are spending our money on.

They argue that the expenses are approved by the Board of Internal Economy which is a committee of 8 MPs who oversee these expenses and because of this safeguard public disclosure isn’t needed. So, MPs who are collecting these expenses are overseeing themselves and their colleagues. Kind of sounds like the foxes guarding the chicken coop, doesn’t it?

These MPs are paid to represent us and are entitled to be reimbursed for legitimate expenses while performing their duties for us but shouldn’t be allowed to claim these expenses without public access to the details. In the old days (pre 1950?) when our MPs were honourable the current system may have been okay, but based on the behaviour of our MPs these days, I wouldn’t let them out of my sight if I had to pay them from my pocket.

Ironically, the party who got elected on the promise of transparency and openness has told their MPs not to divulge their expenses. I guess Sleazy Steve and the Conservatives must have skeletons in its expenses they don’t want to share. No surprise there.