Who Paid For Duceppe's Washington Adventure?

In my piece  Idiot Abroad - Gilles Duceppe in Washington a reader commented;

"For the love of God, please tell me that we, the tax payers, didn't pay for this nonsense." -Anonymous

Err......Sorry. Yes, taxpayers did fit foot the bill.

In fact almost every penny the Bloc Quebecois spends comes directly from taxpayers across the country.
While Quebeckers like to vote for the BQ, they aren't particularly eager to support them financially.

The party manged to raise just a little over $600,000 dollars, a pitiful amount considering that 1.4 million people voted for the party in the last election. In fact, it averages out to just about 44¢ in donation per voter. Compare that to the Conservative party, which received over 5 million votes and collected over $30 million in donations, or about $6 dollars per voter, 15 times more than the Bloc.

It's lucky for the Bloc that the federal government subsidizes each political party to the tune of $2 per vote received, otherwise the party would be broke. And so, the Bloc received a direct subsidy to the tune of  $2.75 million, courtesy of Canadian taxpayers.

Each of the forty-nine Bloc Quebecois members of Parliament chalked up close to $300,000 in reimbursed office expenses for an additional $15 million dollars in taxpayer generated funds. 

Of course all of this doesn't include free postage or airfare for travel between Ottawa and the members home riding, which is charged to the general House Administration central budget.

The party also benefits from research funds provided by Parliament.

Mr. Duceppe himself, as party leader is entitled to additional perks and when all is said and done, it amounts to  something close to $500,000,  paid for by you and me.
Gilles, You're welcome!

As for travel to Washington, this is a completely reimbursable expense, including airfare.

(5)  TRAVEL
(a) each Member is allowed a maximum of 64 return trips each fiscal year between Ottawa and their constituency and other parts of Canada (30 return trips on a prorated basis for all Members elected on October 14, 2008) Four (4) of these trips can also be used to travel to Washington, D.C., and the point of departure must be Ottawa, the Member’s constituency or the American border airport closest to their
constituency.  Opposition Party Leaders are entitled to an additional 16 return trips for a total of 80 return trips (7 return trips on a prorated basis for Opposition Party Leaders elected on October 14, 2008 for a total of 37 return trips.

Of course the taxpayer largess that the Bloc benefits from doesn't stop the party from sniping at the Conservatives. In a case of the  'pot calling the kettle black,' Bloc MP Pierre Paquette blasted the Prime Minister for using taxpayer money for partisan ends;

"Paquette said that under Harper, the PMO's taxpayer-funded budget is designed to "serve the interests of the Conservative party" and that the extra communications staff are hired for "propaganda and information control." LINK

Of the four federal leaders Duceppe spent $482k, second only to NDP leader Jack Layton who spent a whopping $629k. Prime Minister Harper's spending as an MP, totalled $281k and Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff spent a paltry $57k. LINK 

You can see a report of all spending by federal politicians here

Of the Bloc's 49 members of Parliament, over half have already qualified for their pension and  another half dozen will qualify in two years. One of the principle reasons that the opposition did not bring down the government last year was because  seventy-four MPs, having been first elected in 2004,  needed another couple of months to qualify for their pensions. Parliamentarians vest after just six years.

Some Bloc MPs have been in Parliament since the early nineties and as such will earn over one hundred thousand dollars a year when they turn fifty-five!

"It's more generous than almost any plan that anybody can find in existence in Canada, absent of a CEO of a major corporation," said Kevin Gaudet, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. LINK

I wonder if Mr Duceppe and other Bloc members who have now qualified for this pension expect to collect it once Quebec is independent? ...Hmmm 

Goood country Canada!!!