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OTTAWA — New Democrat MPs insist they did nothing wrong when they used parliamentary resources to pay the salaries of employees in satellite party offices.

But they’re now facing an uncomfortable question: if they did nothing wrong, why have they been negotiating an out-of-court settlement with the parliamentary body that’s demanding they reimburse taxpayers for $2.75 million?

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The question arose after the secretive, multi-party board of internal economy, which polices House of Commons spending, revealed late Tuesday that it is sending bills to 68 current and former NDP MPs, including Leader Tom Mulcair, who shared the cost of the satellite office scheme.

The NDP launched a court challenge after the board ruled last summer that its MPs had inappropriately used their Commons budgets to pay for 28 employees in party offices in Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto.

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But the board revealed Tuesday that the court case was suspended in November, at the joint request of lawyers for the NDP and the board, to allow both sides to pursue a negotiated settlement.