Hey, big spenders

Liberal Hedy Fry had highest travel expenses, racking up over $ 260,000

B. C. had some of heaviest spenders in Parliament, including Liberal MP Hedy Fry, newly tabled documents in the nation’s capital have revealed.

OTTAWA — B. C. had some of the biggest spenders in Parliament, according to public accounts documents tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

Liberal Hedy Fry had the highest travel expenses among Canadian MPs, racking up $ 260,584 in costs during the 2011- 12 fiscal year.

And the province had two other MPs in the top five – Conservative Heritage Minister James Moore ($ 239,777) took third place and Conservative MP Randy Kamp ($ 230,086) came in fifth.

Moore had an additional $ 34,779 in expenses for his ministerial travel, while Kamp added just over $ 8,000 for travel related to his role as parliamentary secretary to the fisheries minister.

In the unelected Senate, B. C. Senator Gerry St. Germain, who will hit the age 75- retirement age next week and gave an emotional farewell speech in the upper chamber Tuesday, was third among senators with $ 339,450 in total expenses — $ 187,095 for travel and $ 152,355 in office costs. ( The annual public accounts report doesn’t disclose office expenses for MPs).

B. C. also led the way when it comes to high- flying cabinet ministers, with Trade Minister Ed Fast, MP for Abbotsford, racking up $ 350,800 in international travel costs.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was next at $ 290,731, followed by Defence Minister Peter MacKay ($ 246,587) and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, named to the post several weeks after the start of the fiscal year, came in at $ 216,944.

Fry, first elected as MP for Vancouver Centre in 1993, said she doesn’t know why she has topped the MPs’ list — which she says is a first in her career.

“I haven’t done anything differently, except to do a fair amount of travelling ( across Canada) on health care issues,” said Fry, a physician who was named her party’s health critic after the 2011 election.

She said she met with provincial health ministers and various groups to discuss the Harper government’s approach to the issue.

Fry, whose travel costs jumped 32 per cent over the previous year’s $ 196,749 total, also noted that MPs from B. C. and the northern territories typically have the highest expenses due to the distance from Ottawa.

She pointed out that she returns to her riding almost

I haven’t done anything differently, except to do a fair amount of travelling ( across Canada) on health care issues.

HEDY FRY VANCOUVER CENTRE MP

every week — something not all MPs do.

“When I go back my weekends are full ( with community events and meetings), I have a lot of things to do.”

A spokesman for Moore ( Port Moody- Westwood- Port Coquitlam) related the MP’s high bill to his role as Harper’s senior cabinet minister.

“These are taxpayers’ dollars and the minister operates his office as prudently as possible while fulfilling his obligations as regional minister for British Columbia,” said Sebastien Gariepy in an email.

Moore, for instance, has taken just one foreign trip in five years and didn’t attend the London Olympics.

Kamp, through a spokesman, said the MP for Pitt MeadowsMaple Ridge- Mission’s bill was higher this year due to an “anomaly” that resulted in flights booked for the current year being charged to the 201112 year.

Spokesman Curtis Schoblocher also cited Kamp’s role as the parliamentary secretary to the fisheries minister.

A pair of Alberta Tories rounded out the top- five list for big travellers in the House of Commons. Brian Storseth ( Westlock- St. Paul) chalked up $ 253,046 in expenses to take second place, while Jim Hillyer ( Lethbridge) tallied $ 238,118 in costs, good for fourth place.

In the Senate, the top frequentflyer points- earner was Liberal Terry Mercer, a Nova Scotian and chair of his party’s caucus, with $ 362,053 in travel costs, and Liberal Nick Sibbeston, a Northwest Territories Liberal who had $ 351,049 in expenses.

St. Germain’s office explained in a letter Tuesday that his costs were high due to the distance from Ottawa, combined with his role as chairman of Senate’s aboriginal peoples committee.

“Holding the position of committee chair, for Senator St. Germain, increased his travel as he accommodated some of the requests he received from First Nations and aboriginal organizations to speak about the work of the standing Senate committee,” the letter stated.