15 senators took a $118K trip to Alberta. Some colleagues question its relevance

The inaugural was launched by Alberta Sen. Scott Tannas. In May 2024, helium sent a connection to his colleagues successful the precocious enclosure inviting them connected what helium called a "familiarization tour" of his province.

The thought was simple, helium explained. Many senators were unfamiliar with his portion of the state and would payment from a "come to know" sojourn to Alberta.

The trip, organized successful collaboration with the Alberta government, featured respective stops, including a sojourn to the Calgary Stampede, a gathering with members of the tourism manufacture successful Banff, a time travel to the oilsands and a circuit of the province's atom and beef farms.

Fifteen senators chose to enactment successful the three-day travel past July. Six of them brought unit on and 3 senators brought their spouses. Taxpayers footed the bill, which is wrong the rules of the Senate.

The full cost: $118,000, according to information obtained and compiled by Radio-Canada.

Speaking connected the information that they not beryllium named retired of fearfulness of reprisals, 3 senators say they were uneasy astir the idea. The senators, who did not attend, knock the trip's timing but besides its relevance. It wasn't linked to circumstantial committee work, and one said it was akin to "a summertime team-building trip."

After past year's trip, different senators person organized find visits for this summer. One is again planned successful Alberta — erstwhile again during the Stampede — and different to Churchill, Man.

A reappraisal is underway by the Senate Standing Committee connected Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration (CIBA) to find whether "familiarization tours successful Canada" request to beryllium amended supervised.

"[The] steering committee has questions and concerns astir the enactment of co-ordinated trips by groups of senators ... [with] expenses that disagree considerably from the regular usage of Senate resources," wrote Sen. Lucie Moncion successful a missive to each senators connected April 30.

Moncion chairs the CIBA arsenic good arsenic its steering committee connected docket and procedure.

"The steering committee wishes to guarantee that nationalist funds proceed to beryllium utilized diligently and prudently," she wrote.

After a closed-door gathering past Thursday, the CIBA asked the Subcommittee connected Senate Estimates and Committee Budgets (SEBS) to analyse and study connected co-ordinated question by senators, and contented recommendations to amended modulate it.

Spousal question questioned

The different root of unease concerns the beingness of spouses, whose question to Alberta was reimbursed by the Senate.

"I'm each for helping senators spot their families, and sometimes paying for spouses to question with america to Ottawa," 1 legislator said. "But it can't beryllium a escaped walk to wage for a abrogation successful the Rockies."

In an audit conducted successful 2015 — erstwhile the Senate was grappling with an expense scandal — erstwhile Supreme Court justness Ian Binnie issued a informing to those who beryllium successful the Red Chamber: spouses person the close to travel senators connected duty, but its intent is to alteration what the Senate medication refers to arsenic "family reunification."

"Spousal question was ne'er simply a non-taxable payment oregon a handbasket of escaped airplane rides," helium wrote.

That's precisely what bothers Sen. Pierre Moreau, a erstwhile Quebec minister, who didn't instrumentality portion successful past summer's tour. Although helium feels that specified trips tin beryllium beneficial and justified, helium believes that the rules astir spousal question should beryllium tightened.

"Spouses should screen their ain expenses," helium said. "[Otherwise], I person a occupation with that."

None of the 3 senators who brought their spouses — Paul Prosper, Rosemary Moodie and Ratna Omidvar — responded to Radio-Canada's requests for comment. 

Omidvar retired a fewer months aft the tour.

In a September 2024 code to the Senate, she recounted "a genuinely transformational sojourn to Alberta," adding that she bought her precise archetypal brace of bluish jeans during the sojourn to the Calgary Stampede.

"They're not rather my style, I deliberation you know, but I was rewarded amply by a fig of cowboys tipping their chapeau to maine and saying, 'Howdy, ma'am,' conscionable similar successful the westerns," she said.

Organizers support trip's relevance

Tannas, who organized the tour, told Radio-Canada successful an interrogation helium believes the participants tin determine whether it's tenable to bring their spouses along.

"It is up to the idiosyncratic senator, and they person to support it," helium said.

Tannas defends inviting his colleagues to the Stampede, an lawsuit helium considers important for knowing the "spirit" of Alberta.

"The Stampede, betwixt the cultivation accumulation and, rather frankly, the chuckwagon races and the evening amusement — it gives you a bully consciousness of what Alberta is astir and what the occidental provinces are about."

He besides pointed retired that the chuckwagon races were "at the extremity of the day," and that participants paid their entranceway fees.

Their $500-plus-a-night edifice — at the astir costly clip of the twelvemonth — was, however, reimbursed by taxpayers. 

Tannas rejects the thought that helium concocted a abrogation connected the backs of taxpayers, saying the programme had a dense docket and aggregate meetings.

He said it's indispensable for senators to person a bully knowing of the antithetic regions of the country, due to the fact that that's their job.

"Our occupation is to marque definite that 1 portion of the state is not being advantaged implicit another," helium said, adding that past twelvemonth determination were respective backstage members' bills successful the Senate that helium saw arsenic hostile to his province.

Sen. Daryl Fridhandler, who is organizing the Alberta circuit this summer, agrees.

"Yes, it's going to outgo immoderate money. But, you know, you get what you wage for. And you're going to get amended senators and amended decisions if radical benignant of recognize things better."

Some accidental rules request tightening

Like members of Parliament, the 105 senators tin beryllium reimbursed for question related to their parliamentary work. They each person a slope of points for escaped question from their homes to the Senate successful Ottawa.

Senators tin besides usage immoderate of their points for "special" question — specified arsenic attending conferences, connection grooming oregon gathering representatives successful a region.

But the rules are clear: "At each times, the superior intent of question shall beryllium related to a parliamentary relation and question expenditures shall beryllium justifiable, appropriate, reasonable and good documented."

In an interrogation with Radio-Canada, New Democrat MP Alexandre Boulerice said helium believes senators should beryllium much prudent successful their spending, particularly since nationalist servants person seen their question budgets reduced since 2023.

"I deliberation there's a mismanagement of nationalist funds there," helium said. "And I deliberation we should tighten up the rules."

Boulerice said he's acrophobic senators could now organize trips each implicit Canada under the pretext that determination are antithetic "corners of the country" they request to understand.

He noted that since the travel wasn't portion of Senate committee work, there's nary anticipation of a survey oregon study with recommendations.

"If we tin bash that, I'm going connected a familiarization travel to Baie-des-Chaleurs successful New Brunswick with my family. I'm not definite the payer volition benefit, though," helium said.

University of Ottawa governmental idiosyncratic Geneviève Tellier, who specializes successful nationalist finance, agrees.

"It seems to maine to spell a small beyond the mean scope of senators' work," she said. "Now, if the Senate says, 'We privation to enactment connected a peculiar taxable — oil, energy, fisheries, etc. — and we request immoderate help, and we request to spell there' — good that already exists. There's a procedure, there's funding. 

"But this benignant of trip, connected the inaugural of a azygous senator, with nary accountability afterwards, what's the point, isolated from raising awareness?" she said.

Bloc Québécois House person Christine Normandin pointed retired the precise creation of the Senate features provincial practice to guarantee each parts of the state are heard. 

"There are Alberta senators! They're expected to beryllium the dependable of Alberta successful the assorted senators' caucuses," she said successful an interview.

The interest for 3 senators who spoke to Radio-Canada is that the tours permission an content of frivolity, which reflects severely connected the Senate arsenic a whole. 

"This travel whitethorn beryllium useful, but it's not essential," 1 legislator said. "When you're a non-elected official, you person to beryllium peculiarly cautious with nationalist spending. You can't fto things get retired of hand."

A twelve years ago, the Senate was marred by its expense scandal involving lodging and question allowances claimed by Conservative and Liberal senators.

Since then, spending rules person been tightened — senators are required to beryllium much transparent — but Tellier advises senators, particularly those who didn't acquisition the scandal, to beryllium highly cautious. 

"The relevance of the Senate is perpetually being called into question," she said.