MP travel expenses for the 2011-2012 fiscal year are out and Westerners dominate the top of the list.
The 2012 Public Accounts of Canada were tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, and buried within the thousands of pages of figures are the numbers showing how much MPs and ministers spent on travel from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012.
Nine of the top 10 travel spenders are MPs hailing from either B.C., Alberta or Saskatchewan. The tenth member of the list is from Newfoundland and Labrador. You can see the full list in the slideshow below.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW SLIDESHOW
Top 10 High-Flying MPs
It shouldn't be surprising that MPs from ridings far from Ottawa are racking up the biggest travel bills, but in the case of the top spender there was a large increase year over year. Top spender Hedy Fry's travel spending was up 32 per cent over her 2010-2011 numbers, according to the Vancouver Sun.
Fry told the Sun she hasn't been doing anything differently and that she tries to visit her riding every week.
The data drop also included numbers for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's international travel, and according to Postmedia spending was up more than 70 per cent year over year. The Prime Minister's Office told Postmedia the increase in spending was partially caused by the fact that the G20 and G8 summits were held in Canada the previous year, removing the need for international travel.
PMO spokesman Andrew MacDougall also cited travel related to trade deals and negotiations, according to Postmedia.
The figures for ministers' international travel were also part of the information release and you can check out who topped that list in the slideshow below.
