An Ontario senator spent nearly $10,000 travelling to a three-day conference in Chile where six elected MPs were already representing Parliament. And that was just one of her many international excursions. In fact, Senator Salma Ataullahjan has the highest travel bill in the Senate.

“Ataullahjan is handing taxpayers the bill for her extensive travel expenses without providing any value to Canadians in return,” said Noah Jarvis, Canadian Taxpayers Federation Ontario Director. “Ataullahjan might love life abroad, but taxpayers shouldn’t be the ones footing the bill.”

Ataullahjan spent $131,706 on international travel between January 2023 and March 2026. Costs include 14 trips and $1,375 in expenses related to three cancelled trips, according to records obtained by the CTF.

Ataullahjan travelled to Mozambique, Botswana, Switzerland twice, Uzbekistan, the United States, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Angola, Costa Rica, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Bahrain, Senegal and Cabo Verde.

Ataullahjan billed taxpayers $9,816 to attend a three-day parliamentary conference in Santiago, Chile, in April 2023.

Parliament sent six elected MPs to the conference: Dave Epp, Alistair MacGregor, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Rob Morrison, Marc Serré and Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné. The 10-person delegation cost taxpayers $91,787.

Ataullahjan billed taxpayers $12,164 for a seven-day parliamentary trip to Mozambique and Botswana in March 2026. 

Parliament also sent two elected MPs, Marie-Hélène Gaudreau and Jamie Schmale. The five-person delegation cost taxpayers $74,341, including $3,510 in hospitality.

Ataullahjan also spent $6,723 on a five-day trip to Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic despite four MPs already being on the delegation.

The eight-person delegation cost taxpayers $65,026, including $3,621 for “working lunches.” That included $1,171 for lunch for 10 people at the Factory Steak & Lobster Restaurant in Santo Domingo. That’s $117 per person.  

“Why are we paying for unelected senators to travel all over the world when our elected MPs are already on these trips?” Jarvis said. “It makes no sense for unelected senators like Ataullahjan to travel around the world to speak on behalf of Canadians abroad when they don’t represent a single Canadian voter.”  

Ontario Senator Rebecca Patterson billed taxpayers $80,299 on 13 trips abroad.

She is the second-highest Senate travel spender in the province and the fifth-highest in Canada.

Patterson travelled to Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Senegal, Cabo Verde and the United States.

This includes an $11,889 five-day bilateral mission to Senegal and Cabo Verde in March 2025. Parliament sent five senators and no elected MPs. The full mission cost $95,795.

Canada only exports about $2.4 million worth of goods annually to Cabo Verde. That’s roughly 0.0003 per cent of Canada’s total goods exports.

Ontario Senator Rosemary Moodie billed taxpayers $35,296 on nine trips abroad.

She is the third-highest Senate travel spender in the province.

Moodie’s international travel included Austria, Ghana, Barbados, Saint Lucia, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Moodie billed taxpayers $10,011 to attend a two-day parliamentary meeting in Vienna, Austria in February 2023. Parliament also sent four elected MPs – Hedy Fry, John Aldag, Don Davies and Kristina Michaud. The eight-person delegation cost taxpayers $61,010. 

Other high-spending Ontario senators included Sharon Burey at $34,576, Donna Dasko at $32,859, Peter Boehm at $27,248, Gwen Boniface at $25,331 and former Senator Victor Oh at $23,417.

Ontario senators billed taxpayers $494,416 for international travel between January 2023 and March 2026, according to the records. 

“Canadians are struggling with life becoming more expensive and can’t afford their tax dollars being spent on senators’ pointless trips around the world,” Jarvis said. “Unelected senators need to start showing some respect for taxpayers and stop lavish trips around the world.”