So Much for Belt Tightening. Stephen Harper Goes on Wild Spending Spree.

While preaching austerity and telling the nation that we may no longer be able to afford basics like health care, Stephen Harper has joined 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'.

His communications budget has risen 30% for state sanctioned propaganda.

Opposition parties blasted Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday over the soaring costs of his office and said the Conservatives' excuse — hiring extra communications staff — is actually part of the government's strategy to spread political "propaganda" to the nation.

The government was put on the defensive in the House of Commons in the wake of a Postmedia News report that revealed the annual cost of the prime minister's office had ballooned to nearly $10 million — a jump of 30 per cent over the past two years. The figures stem from the latest Public Accounts of Canada, which contain details on government expenditures.

And not one to travel light, he makes the most of every trip, racking up seven million in expenses.

He travelled to foreign destinations ranging from New Delhi to Copenhagen — 15 trips in one year. So just how much did it cost Canadian taxpayers to send Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his aides abroad?

Nearly $7 million in 2009-10, according to documents tabled in Parliament Thursday ... Harper's press secretary, Andrew MacDougall, said Thursday that the prime minister aims to get results when he travels abroad.

And yet he doesn't. The rest of the world hates us.

And this spending like a king doesn't stop at Harper. His entire caucus has cracked open the champagne, slid off the satin sheets and choked on a bit of cavier.

The Public Accounts of Canada also reveal taxpayers are footing a much higher bill for the entire Conservative cabinet, with its costs increasing by 16 per cent since 2007-08, when the books began recording the expenses of the prime minister and his ministers.

The dramatic hike in costs has come as the government embarks on an offensive to reduce the $56-billion deficit and Harper's ministers have continually pledged to tighten their own belts to help out. And yet the new figures contained in the Public Accounts show the trend at the very centre of the Tory government has been one of rising expenses.

We can no longer afford this government. It's that simple. Their culture of entitlement is outdoing even Brian Mulroney.