OTTAWA—Senators found cheating on their housing allowances should be forced to repay taxpayers, an opposition MP says.

But NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) says he’s got no faith that the “Old Boys’ club” in the Senate will crack down on their own members or toughen the rules.

“We’ve never seen the Senate police itself. It’s always been an Old Boys’ club,” Angus told reporters Wednesday. “If an ordinary citizen hit up the Canadian government for $41,000 that they weren’t entitled to, the government would come down on them like a ton of bricks.”

The Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy is conducting an audit following reports last year that some senators are claiming tens of thousands of dollars in annual living expenses for their time spent in the national capital despite living in or near Ottawa most of the time.

It has asked senators to provide proof that their primary residences are in the provinces or territories they represent.

Senators are allowed to claim up to $22,000 in living expenses — including accommodation, meals and incidentals — per fiscal year when they are in Ottawa on parliamentary business, so long as their primary residence is more than 100 kilometres away.

In question period, Angus took aim at Conservative Senator Mike Duffy — whom he dubbed “Senator Come-From-Away.” Duffy claims a home in Cavendish, P.E.I., as his primary residence but also has a home in suburban Ottawa.

But Duffy has come under the spotlight this week after it was revealed he applied for an expedited P.E.I. health card after the Senate began its probe of primary residences.

Duffy claimed about $42,802 in living expenses for the National Capital Region between Nov. 30, 2010 and Nov. 30, 2012, according to quarterly expense reports.

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

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, The Canadian Press reported.

Also Wednesday night, CTV News reported Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau used his former father-in-law’s address in a First Nations community when he claimed an aboriginal income tax exemption from 2004 to 2008.

Brazeau, who has publicly called on aboriginal leaders to be more financially accountable, listed the residence on the Kitigan Zibi First Nation in Quebec as his mailing address for four years, unbeknownst to his ex-wife’s father, CTV reported.

Conservative Senator David Tkachuk, who chairs the committee conducting the audit, said he expects it to be out by the end of the month and wouldn’t discuss possible sanctions for senators found abusing the system.

“As far as whether a senator is a senator in good standing, that is a separate question and that is above my pay scale,” he said.

Tkachuk added the purpose of the audit is twofold: to verify that expenses are being paid properly and whether rules need to be changed.

Tyler Sommers, co-ordinator of Democracy Watch, has his doubts whether the audit will lead to any meaningful change.

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“I don’t think we should be holding our breath and hoping that there will be punishments,” he said in an interview.

“Ideally, there wouldn’t be senators investigating senators. It would be an independent body who would be investigating this. The rules would be clear and there would be minimum punishments doled out to people who violated the rules.”

With files from CTV News, The Canadian Press

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