MPs file nearly $400,000 in expenses

Both MPs representing the county each had expenses last year totalling close to $400,000, including over $32,000 for travel, according to a recently released House of Commons report.

Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong’s expenses for the period between April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 were $398,606, while Perth-Wellington MP Gary Schellenberger’s total was $393,296.

Those figures may seem high to some, but they do compare favourably to totals for other MPs from the general area, including Dufferin-Caledon’s David Tilson ($409,534),  Kitchener-Waterloo’s Peter Braid ($465,018) and Kitchener-Conestoga’s Harold Albrecht ($500,466).

Itemized expense claims, like the kind that sparked a scandal in Nova Scotia following an Auditor General’s review, aren’t included in the report - available online at www.parl.gc.ca - though it does provide greater detail than was made available in previous years.

Chong’s total includes $258,604 for employee salaries and service contracts, $40,818 on travel, $81 for employee travel and $22,394 for his accommodations and per diem expenses.

He spent $3,617 on hospitality and events, $10,715 on printing and $49,666 in office expenses.

Schellenberger filed a total of $222,723 for employee salaries and service contracts, $32,009 on travel, $8,647 for employee travel and $24,468 for his accommodations and per diem expenses.

He also shelled out $4,182 on hospitality and events, $22,376 on printing and $63,641 in office expenses.

In total, all MPs spent over $142.6-million, including over $5-million in advertising, almost $1.6-million on hospitality and events and over $26-million on travel.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and official Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff filed $281,255 and $570,984 respectively, on top of their official budgets for their roles. NDP Leader Jack Layton filed $628,913 in expenses.