Wild Rose Conservative MP Blake Richards says his expenses are prudent and in line with the requirements of meeting the needs of his constituents.
“It's really difficult to compare one member of Parliament's expenses to another,” Richards said in a Gazette interview. “I very carefully watch my budget and things that we are spending money on to make sure we are always getting the best value we can.”
According to the 2013 Parliament of Canada members' expense report, Richards had the third-highest overall expenses of all MPs for the fiscal year ending March 31.
His total expenses were $547,510.07, including $262,642.15 for salary, $132,227.22 for member travel, $20,671.68 for employee travel, and $15,507 for member secondary residence expenses.
Other expenses included $8,631.25 for hospitality and events, $21,367.93 for householder information mail outs, $30,680 for constituency office expenses, and $11,412.80 for telecommunications services.
The Wild Rose riding covers 28,000 square kilometres and includes Olds, Carstairs, Didsbury and Sundre and surrounding areas.
Richards says his large constituency requires extraordinary office coverage and travel, both of which contribute to overall expenses.
“In my case, I have one of the largest ridings in the country, in terms of geography and population,” he said. “We have seen tremendous growth in the communities in the riding. We are sitting at 40,000 or more above the typical constituency. We do the community office hours in 10 different locations in the riding each month, so that requires some expense.”
He said in 2012 he chaired a special committee “that required me to make several extra trips to Ottawa over the summer that I wouldn't normally make.”
