Recently appointed Conservative senator racks up travel expenses

OTTAWA – Senator Thanh Hai Ngo has become one of the Senate’s newest high flyers, racking up $52,000 in travel expenses in just six months.

Ngo lives in Orleans, a suburb of Ottawa, and charges no expenses for travel from his home to Parliament Hill.

But as Canada’s first senator of Vietnamese descent, Ngo has crisscrossed the country speaking to community groups.

Ngo says he is doing what he is supposed to do.

“Travelling across Canada to visit all the community across Canada…the Vietnamese community. That’s it,” Ngo told Global News last week about why he was travelling.

His website shows how busy he’s been, visiting Vietnamese groups in Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and California.

A video on YouTube shows Ngo in Vancouver with Immigration Minister Jason Kenney – making a pitch for the Conservative Party.

“Many of our Vietnamese culture and values coincide very well with the Conservative Party values,” Ngo said in the video.

For his part, Ngo says it is money well spent.

“One of the roles of the Senate is to serve the community and serve all Canadians, so I serve all Canadians,” he told Global News last week.

But NDP MP Charlie Angus says taxpayers should not be paying for Ngo’s travels.

“He wasn’t hired as a cultural ambassador. He was hired as a senator. So I would like to know exactly what he is doing with all that spending,” said NDP MP Charlie Angus.

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The Senate website states the function of the institution is to legislate and investigate – but a number of senators also act as advocates for different causes.

Glenn Hoa organized an event attended by Ngo in Montreal called Generation Legacy. The event was meant to bridge the gap between young and old members of the Vietnamese community – but spread to other groups across the country.

Ngo attended the event and Hoa said the appearance meant a lot to his community.

“He has this status of senator which is probably the most highly ranked, politically, among the Vietnamese community, so we thought it would be nice if he could show this type of appreciation for the normal people,” Hoa said.

Ngo’s outreach has also taken him overseas. Last December, he was in Paris speaking about his experiences as the first Vietnamese Canadian senator. Ngo insists, and the Senate administration confirms, he paid for the trip – along with trips to Bangkok and California – out of his own pocket.

Last week, the government leader in the Senate says she has been looking at travel expenses and adds that the rules are about to become stricter.

“With the new tightened rules senators will have to be more explicit in explaining the purpose of the travel,” Marjory LeBreton said.