Patterson second on spending list
Office defends his work as giving voice to Nunavut
Beth Brown
Northern News Services
Saturday, December 3, 2016
NUNAVUT
An Iqaluit barbecue takes Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson to number two on the list of senatorial hospitality expenditures in a quarterly report released on Nov. 30.
Hospitality expenses outlined in a quarterly report rate Nunavut Senator Dennis Patteron's as second-highest among senators, but his office said most of the money was spent on providing a voice to Nunavummiut. - NNSL file photo
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The report runs from July 1 to September 30 but also covers events held in June.
The report states that Patterson's office spent $1,339.55 on hospitality. As much as $488.04 of that amount was the result of a July 19 barbecue, held to kick off a Defence Policy Review Roundtable.
Two primary issues Patterson pushed at the roundtable event included an increased role for the Canadian Rangers, specifically in marine areas, and added efforts to strengthen search-and-rescue capacity in the Arctic.
Similar roundtable events were held across Canada.
"Senator Patterson had a great opportunity with the roundtable to give Nunavummiut a voice," said Claudine Santos, Patterson's parliamentary affairs advisor.
"He doesn't hold grand events generally. It was important to get a Nunavut-specific voice into this conversation. Because of the timing of the roundtable, that's why Senator Patterson incurred such a high expense."
The cost of venue rental, propane fees and non-alcoholic beverages stayed in the territory, but Patterson brought food from the south.
"In order to save money, instead of catering it up North, he bought the food and brought it up with him on the plane."
The report lists purchases for the event from Costco, Sobeys and Independent.
The report brings to light two other do-good initiatives by Patterson's office, including a June 20 screening of the film Angry Inuk on Parliament Hill. The screening was timed to correspond with director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril's presentation, along with 11 other indigenous youth, to the Senate on Aboriginal Day.
"It was Senator Patterson's way of not only highlighting filmmaking excellence in Nunavut but also bringing the issue of the seal ban and its effect on Inuit to the Hill," she said.
The screening was followed by a question-and-answer period with Arnaquq-Baril and the senators and ministers present.
Another outreach expense was incurred on June 21, when Patterson hosted four Nunavut medical students at the Senate.
"He didn't just recognize them in the Senate, he made a whole event of it to make them feel really special," said Santos.
"It was a really fantastic experience for them."
The students went to lunch at the Parliamentary restaurant, appeared in chamber, where they were recognized by the Speaker and then received a private tour of Parliament Hill.
Most remaining expenditures, such as $47.34 at the Waters Edge Seafood and Steakhouse in Iqaluit, were dinner meetings - including a meeting with a Nunavut community leader on the subject of supporting hunters and trappers organizations.
Most of the hospitality expenses are labeled as business meetings in the report. Santos said that the fixed categories or labels used when filing expenses limit an ability to be more transparent, and more detailed options on the claim form would help the office to better communicate what money is actually being spent on.
Increased efforts for transparency in Senate expenses stem from a 2015 scandal where many senators were found to be poor stewards of taxpayer dollars when it came to hospitality and travel.
The senators were required to pay back expenses, including a sum of nearly $23,000 from Patterson, which Santos said has been paid in full.
