How much did your Member of Parliament spend?

Good Day Readers:

We've highlighted the expenses of Shelly Glover because for better or worse she's our MP.

Suffice it to say for now we can't say we're overly impressed. On the question of 10-Percenters for a while it was ridiculous. It seemed hardly a week would go by without one from her. More recently, the flow seems to have slowed - thank God! The messages/debates were framed in simplistic almost juvenile terms as though geared to the uninformed common denominator. As we looked at the many flyers scattered on the floor of the apartment building we wondered isn't there a more cost effective way such as e-mail?

Wonder what we should say to Ms Glover when she comes knocking on our door during the next election looking for a vote?

Sincerely/Clare L. Pieuk

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LOCAL Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Travel costs disclosed, but not details
Manitoba Tory MPs draw fire for partisan mailers
October 30, 2010
By: Mia Rabson

OTTAWA -- Taxpayers shelled out more than $7 million in office and travel expenses for Manitoba's 14 MPs last year.

The new report on MP expenses was released Thursday as part of the tabling of Public Accounts documents in the House of Commons.

What your MPs spent last year - Total expenses

Steven Fletcher (Conservative, Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia) = $839,092.15*
Joy Smith (Conservative, Kildonan-St.Paul) = $541,728
Vic Toews (Conservative, Provencher) = $528,957.88
James Bezan (Conservative, Selkirk-Interlake) = $527,008.98
Pat Martin (NDP, Winnipeg Centre) = $508,743.68
Anita Neville (Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre) = $506,704.60
Rod Bruinooge (Conservative, Winnipeg South) = $491,581.84
Niki Ashton (NDP, Churchill) = $491,310.79
Inky Mark (Conservative, Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette) = $490,262.67
Candice Hoeppner (Conservative, Portage-Lisgar) = $489,431.12
Judy Wasylycia-Leis (NDP, Winnipeg North) $488,306.09
Merv Tweed (Conservative, Brandon-Souris) = $478,322.01
Shelly Glover (Conservative, Saint Boniface) = $466,615.30
Jim Maloway (NDP, Elmwood-Transcona) = $392,219.92

10-PERCENTERS (PARTISAN MAILERS)

Vic Toews, Conservative = $89,539.30
Steven Fletcher, Conservative = $74,859.09
Joy Smith, Conservative = $62,521
James Bezan, Conservative = $62,396.18
Inky Mark, Conservative = $55,337.10
Rod Bruinooge, Conservative = $49,867.07
Shelly Glover, Conservative = $42,736.24
Merv Tweed, Conservative = $32,432.34
Anita Neville, Liberal = $26,731.58
Pat Martin, NDP = $26,120.69
Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP = $22,738.78
Jim Maloway, NDP = $20,616.25
Candice Hoeppner, Conservative = $18,165.01
Niki Ashton, NDP = $9,155.50

* Expenses are higher due to medical needs and other assistance due to quadriplegia

This year's report is in a more user-friendly format and has a few more details in it than previous years, the result of a large outcry from the public that included hundreds of letters to Prime Minister Stephen Harper decrying MPs' unwillingness to let Auditor General Sheila Fraser examine their expense claims.

But the specific details such as where MPs travelled and why, how many staff they have on the payroll or what furniture they bought for their offices is still behind a veil of secrecy.

Overall, MPs from the 308 ridings spent $142.6 million on office rentals and supplies, staff salaries, travel to and from their constituencies, accommodation expenses while in Ottawa, advertising and political mailers.

In Manitoba, the 14 MPs racked up $7,240,285.66 in expenses, an increase of nine per cent over the year before.

Over 42 per cent of Manitoba's MP expenses paid went to staff salaries and service contracts and more than 21 per cent to travel for MPs and designated dependents mainly to and from Ottawa.

The third-largest expense was paid for the now infamous 10-percenters. The controversial partisan mailers have now been banned from being sent outside an MP's own riding.

But last year Manitoba MPs spent almost $600,000 on them, usually on hyper-partisan leaflets attacking their opponents, all at taxpayers' expense.

Conservative MPs were by far the most prolific users of this communications approach, averaging more than $50,000 per MP in Manitoba, compared to less than $20,000 for the four NDP MPs. Sole Liberal MP Anita Neville spent $26,731.

Manitoba regional cabinet minister Vic Toews rang up the biggest 10-percenters bill at $89,539.30, more than all four of the Manitoba NDP MPs combined.

NDP MP Niki Ashton spent the least at $9,155.

Manitoba NDP MP Pat Martin -- who expensed $26,120 on 10-percenters last year -- said the fact a cabinet minister topped the list in this category is unacceptable.

"The government has unlimited dollars at their disposal to communicate with the public," said Martin. "For a minister of the Crown to use taxpayer dollars to carpet-bomb opposition ridings is appalling."

Toews' office did not respond to a request for a comment.

Derek Fildebrant, national research director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said Toews' use of 10 percenters likely was him playing the part of the team player since most often 10-percenters were designed by the party and mailed out on behalf of MPs.

But he said it is hypocritical and poor leadership to waste money on partisan mailers at a time when the government is preaching restraint in spending.

"In a time when we're facing mass record deficits it is an example of very poor leadership," said Fildebrandt.

Fildebrandt said it was nice to see a few more details in this year's report but said the lack of full access to receipts and details such as where MPs travelled and why, the system is still not open or accountable enough.

"The best medicine for keep spending under control is accountability," said Fildebrandt.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 30, 2010 Page A5