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The Federal Court has set April 2016 as the deadline for filing documents in the case launched by New Democrat MPs over the House of Commons board’s demand they repay the costs of staffing so-called satellite offices.

The group of 68 MPs launched the application last year after they were found to have violated the spending rules by contributing part of their office budgets toward the costs of staffing party offices in Montreal and Quebec.

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The House Board of Internal Economy says the New Democrats must collectively repay a total of $2.7 million. NDP MPs are also on the hook for a further $1.3 million in mailing costs associated with flyers that the board says also broke the rules.

The Federal Court case won’t be heard until long after the forthcoming election. A prothonotary overseeing the process has sent Oct. 31, 2015 as the deadline for the applicants to file affidavits and other materials. The government has until April 1, 2016 to file its documents by way of response.

That means the NDP could shake off the satellite offices issue by winning a majority government, then using its numbers on a newly constituted Board of Internal Economy to abandon the claims against the MPs — presuming that the House selects a new Speaker, who sits on the board, and that he or she is a New Democrat.

But were the NDP to win only a minority, the party would be unable to command a majority vote on the board and the case would drag on to trial, likely sometime in 2016.