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HALIFAX — Senator Mike Duffy took a back exit through a Halifax hotel kitchen after a speech on Wednesday night as he declined to answer reporters’ questions about his claims for living allowances for an Ottawa residence.

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The former broadcaster suggested journalists focus on energy issues, the topic of the speech he’d just given to the Maritime Energy Association, rather than ask him about a controversy over his primary residence.

“You should be doing adult work. Write about energy,” said Duffy as he walked down the kitchen hallway while staff barred reporters from approaching him.

Opposition MPs are questioning whether the senator’s primary residence is a cottage in Cavendish, P.E.I., as he has repeatedly stated.

The Senate is currently auditing its members to ensure they live where they say they do.

The inquiry came as a Postmedia report in December said Duffy spends the majority of his year in his Ottawa house, yet has claimed more than $33,000 in living allowances since 2010.