SASKATOON, SK: A former Saskatchewan senator billed taxpayers thousands of dollars for a European trip that included a weekend stop in Estonia when no officials were available to meet with the delegation.

The entourage went sightseeing instead.

Records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation show retired Senator Brent Cotter billed taxpayers more for international travel than any other Saskatchewan senator included in the records.

“Saskatchewanians have every right to demand value for their money and there’s no value in a senator sightseeing across Europe,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Hardworking people who are fighting to afford the basics like food and heating bills in Saskatchewan should not be paying for an unelected Senator to tag along on a tour of Europe.”

Cotter spent $19,102 travelling to Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Belgium and Switzerland during his final year in the Senate, according to records obtained by the CTF.

Cotter billed taxpayers $7,694 for a six-day bilateral parliamentary mission to Warsaw, Poland, Riga, Latvia, and Tallinn, Estonia, in November 2024. Parliament also sent three elected MPs, Stéphane Bergeron, Pam Damoff and Viviane Lapointe. The eight-person delegation cost taxpayers $81,168, including $3,441 for hospitality, also known as food and drinks.

Cotter and the delegation arrived in Tallinn on a Sunday when no officials “were available” to meet with them. So, they toured “important landmarks in the city.”

They attended a “networking reception” in Warsaw and a reception at a museum in Riga. They also watched a “live-fire demonstration” at a military base and ended the trip with a guided tour of another museum.

Cotter billed taxpayers $3,870 for a three-day trip to Brussels, Belgium, in February 2024 for NATO parliamentary meetings.

Parliament sent four unelected senators and six elected MPs: Julie Dzerowicz, Darren Fisher, Cheryl Gallant, Patricia Lattanzio, Christine Normandin and Alex Ruff. The entire trip cost taxpayers $57,629, including $2,028 for a dinner for 13 people at Lola Restaurant in Brussels. That works out to $156 per person.

Cotter billed taxpayers $7,538 for a five-day trip to Geneva, Switzerland, in October 2024 to attend a parliamentary assembly. Parliament also sent three elected MPs, David McGuinty, Michelle Rempel Garner and Jenny Kwan, along with Senator Salma Ataullahjan. The eight-person delegation cost taxpayers $78,046.

Saskatchewan senators billed taxpayers $23,024 for international travel between January 2023 and March 2026, according to the records.

“It’s pointless travel costs like these that prove the unelected, unaccountable Senate should be abolished because nobody voted for them, they represent nobody and they are still costing taxpayers a fortune,” Haubrich said. “The Senate will cost taxpayers more than $140 million this year. It’s time to abolish the Senate.”

Cotter retired from the Senate in December 2024.