Senate's top spender defends long list of contracts for outside consultants

A non-affiliated senator from Manitoba is the biggest spender in the Red Chamber — but she defends her expenses by saying she's an active parliamentarian who needs a lot of help and wants to pay her consultants fairly.

Marilou McPhedran, named to the Senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016, spends comparatively more than other senators to retain outside aides and consultants.

Since January 2021, McPhedran has awarded $193,881 worth of contracts to part-time and casual employees — mostly students — researchers, government relations professionals and one activist who's written about lowering the federal voting age to 16, a cause the senator has championed in recent years.

In an interview, McPhedran conceded she'd likely spend more than she does now if Senate finance officials didn't routinely deny her requests for more resources.

"I'm someone they say 'no' to a lot because they don't understand how I try to do things," she said.

"I don't do things the way most other senators have been doing it. I'm not interested in that."

McPhedran said she doesn't want to rely solely on full-time staff — she also wants outside experts to work on her various projects.

"I want to be able to create a learning environment using the resources given to me. I think that's completely within the boundaries," she said.

The Winnipeg senator is also known for spending more than her colleagues on travel. She posted trip expenses that totalled more than $54,000 for the last three months of 2022 alone, according to Senate data.

Since July 2022, McPhedran has spent $108,082 on travel.

Under the Senate's travel policy, senators are entitled to fly business class — which can lead to pricey fares paid for by taxpayers.

McPhedran's recent flight to Victoria for a conference cost more than $5,000.

While she dips into the federal treasury more often than others, McPhedran is also among the most transparent senators when it comes to financial disclosure.

She posts a detailed statement on her Facebook page whenever there's a new expenses report published by the Senate administration.