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Between Sept. 1, 2013 and Aug. 31, 2014, the 12 months after Wallin’s audit was released, that same group spent $477,541, a drop of 55 per cent, according to a Citizen analysis of senators’ quarterly expense reports.

“That matches what I’m hearing people saying — that they’re so uncertain now about so much and not really clear, that it’s better to not travel now and not take the risk,” said Independent Sen. Anne Cools, the dean of the Senate.

“Other” travel is when a senator goes somewhere as part of his or her work in the Senate; it does not include travel between the national capital and the senator’s home. What constitutes legitimate “other” travel, however, has become a hot-potato issue for the Senate.

Many continue to travel regularly around the country, arguing that senators should be out meeting Canadians on a variety of issues. They argue that to do otherwise is partly an admission of guilt — as if they were abusing tax dollars — and could lead to important public issues being neglected or missed.

“The farther you go from Ottawa, the better the information is,” Kenny said. “People in Ottawa are concerned that if they talk to you, it will be a problem for the government in question period.”

Kenny’s spending on “other” travel has dropped, partly due to buying more travel passes: bulk flight tickets that can cut the cost of travel by more than half. Other senators, such as Sen. Jim Munson, have done the same.

“I personally chose not to travel as much as I did the year before,” Munson added, of a 56-per-cent cut in his own travel spending. “There’s nothing in my thinking, it’s just next year I could be back to those other levels.”