OTTAWA – An analysis by Canada’s New Democrats has found Senators are charging taxpayers almost 220 per cent more for expenses while working less and less. Stephen Harper promised to end the practice of handing out Senate seats as party favours but his broken promise is costing taxpayers every day.
“The cost of Stephen Harper’s broken promise is now over $177 million, accounting for salaries, office and travel expenses for 27 Senators. In some cases, these Senators will sit for 41 years,” said New Democrat MP Peter Stoffer (Sackville—Eastern Shore). “And what are those Senators doing? Turning Mike Duffy into spam – it’s partisan work for public money.”
A never before released analysis of Senators’ expenses and attendance compiled by the New Democrats shows that Senators are charging more, while in some cases missing more than half the days the Senate sits.
In the last fiscal year, Senators charged $19.5 million in travel and office expenses, that’s 219 per cent more than they charged 14 years ago – a rate three times greater than the increase in overall government spending. Similarly, the costs of running the Senate have increased 94 per cent, 35 per cent more than the cost of the elected (and growing) House of Commons.
“The cost to taxpayers to maintain the comfortable lifestyle of these well-connected Liberal and Conservative friends has skyrocketed,” said Stoffer. “Yet Canadians don’t see Senators doing more work than they did 14 years ago. In fact, many of the same unelected Senators are charging you to pay for their lifestyle, while they aren’t even showing up to work.”
Stoffer pointed to some examples:
“Despite promising to be different, Stephen Harper is now hooked on patronage, just like the Liberals. As a result, our Prime Minister has thrown away any credibility he had on ethics and accountability,” Stoffer said.