OTTAWA—Sen. Mac Harb reacted with defiance when his colleagues ordered him to repay thousands of dollars in living expenses, by hiring a high-profile lawyer and quitting the Liberal caucus to fight the demands.

The surprising move followed the release Thursday of an exhaustive examination by independent auditors of the living allowances of three senators, which also revealed Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy billed taxpayers for meals while travelling in Florida.

Questions about whether Duffy was tipped off about the Florida expenses by the Conservative senator who chairs the committee in charge of the investigation raised doubts among Liberals about the integrity of the process.

The multitude of developments made for another busy news day at the Senate, which has been thrust reluctantly into the spotlight in recent months as reporters stalked the halls in response to a scandal over spending.

“This was a crisis, pure and simple,” Conservative Sen. David Tkachuk, who chairs the Senate standing committee on internal economy, budgets and administration that initiated the review, said as he tabled the reports.

“There is no more of the honour system around this place,” Sen. Marjory LeBreton, government leader in the Senate, told reporters of the stricter rules for travel and other expenses proposed Thursday.

The newly released reports represent the culmination of an independent investigation by external auditors into allegations that Harb, Duffy and Sen. Patrick Brazeau, who has since been on a forced leave of absence while facing charges of assault and sexual assault.

James Cowan, Liberal leader in the Senate, expressed his disappointment that the committee did not recommend further action, such as referring the findings to the RCMP.

“If further action is deemed necessary by the police, they will take that action. That is a decision for the police, not for the Senate,” Cowan said.

The Senate also awaits the result of another review by external auditors of travel expenses submitted by Conservative Sen. Pamela Wallin.

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.

Auditors with Deloitte tracked the movements of Harb, Duffy and Brazeau day by day — consulting their mobile phone records, credit card statements, travel calendars, bank account histories and other documents — to figure out exactly how much time they spent at their primary residences during the period of review.

The auditors found Brazeau, who declared he lived primarily with his father in Maniwaki, Que., and claimed expenses associated with his rental home in Gatineau, Que., spent only 10 per cent of the time between April 1, 2011 and Sept. 30, 2012 at his primary residence, plus an additional 13 day trips.

The report notes Brazeau was reimbursed $34,619, including accommodations and mileage for trips to Maniwaki, in secondary living expenses during that period.

The auditors determined Duffy, who declared a cottage in Cavendish, P.E.I., as his primary residence while claiming mortgage payments for his home in Kanata, about 22 kilometres from Parliament Hill, spent 30 per cent of the time in P.E.I. over the same time period, plus one day trip to the province.

During that time, Duffy collected $34,128, including accommodations and a per diem allowance for meals and incidentals.

Harb, a former Ottawa city councillor and MP who owns several properties in the city, spent 21 per cent of the time at his declared primary residence, a home in Westmeath, Ont., about 150 kilometres from Ottawa, plus two day trips.

The riverside home is now for sale.

Harb received $43,056 for private accommodations, meals and incidentals and mileage between Ottawa and Westmeath during that same period.

The auditors found the definition of primary residence to be unclear in earlier versions of Senate expense policies, but in its own majority reports tabled on Thursday, the committee on internal economy determined the language to be clear enough when it comes to who is eligible to claim secondary living expenses.

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So, the committee recommended the three senators reimburse the amounts — extending the time period to March 31 of this year, plus interest and have their expense claims monitored for the following year.

LeBreton said this amounts to $48,744 for Brazeau, who only began claiming secondary living expenses in April 2011.

Brazeau did not respond to a request for comment.

LeBreton said Harb, whose travel patterns expense claims prior to April 1, 2011 will be subject to further investigation, is asked to repay $51,482.

A news release from his office said Harb and his legal team, which includes former Supreme Court justice Michel Bastarache, will “determine all legal actions that can be undertaken to quash the decision of the committee.”

He has resigned from the Liberal caucus while he fights the findings.

The committee noted Duffy already reimbursed $90,172 in living expenses dating back to his appointment to the Senate in December 2008 and said it was satisfied with that amount.

The auditors also found that Duffy claimed per diems, which senators are eligible for only when they are in Ottawa on Senate business, for a number of days when he appeared to be outside the capital, including 12 days in Florida for which he was reimbursed $1,050.

Duffy mentioned those per diems in an April 18 letter to Tkachuk, in which he blamed a “clerical error” on “a temporary worker” who processed the claim in January and promised to reimburse the Senate.

The letter also noted his discovery of the error followed an “informal conversation” between the two colleagues that took place the same day Deloitte briefed the internal economy committee on the content of their reports.

Cowan said Tkachuk, who did not emerge to speak to media and did not respond to a request for comment, should not have discussed the matter with Duffy.

“Nobody should have disclosed to anybody any discussions that took place in those meetings,” Cowan said.

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