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OTTAWA — It’s unclear how the Senate will recover tens of thousands of dollars it says Sen. Patrick Brazeau owes taxpayers.

Until Brazeau’s suspension without pay on Tuesday, 20% of his salary was being withheld – an arrangement meant to continue over two years – so the Senate could recoup the $48,745 it concluded he owed for improper housing and travel claims. But with the Quebec senator no longer on the payroll, that plan has been derailed.

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Claude Carignan, the government leader in the Senate, who spearheaded the plan to strip senators Brazeau, Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin of everything except their titles and benefits, directed questions about Brazeau’s repayment to the Senate’s administration.

Annie Joannette, a Senate spokesperson, said information about how the red chamber will recover money from the suspended senator “is not available at this time.” A separate statement released by the Senate late in the day said its administration “is currently studying the technicalities” of the motions.