Why is the auditor general investigating Senate expense claims?

In June 2013, Sen. Marjory LeBreton called on auditor general Michael Ferguson to do a top-to-bottom audit of all Senate expenses in response to the growing spending scandal. Four senators had been accused of improperly claiming expenses, Mac Harb, Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau and Pamela Wallin. Nigel Wright, the prime minister’s chief of staff, had resigned after it became public that he wrote Duffy a $90,000 check to cover his expenses.

Is this the first time Senate expenses were audited?

No, an audit also conducted by Ferguson in 2012 was what initially triggered the spending scandal. In this report, Ferguson found that not all claims had sufficient documentation. While a relatively minor point, this finding led to further investigations into Senate housing allowances, and ultimately implication of the four senators, Duffy, Harb, Brazeau and Wallin.

What did the audit entail?

Beginning in the fall of 2013, the auditor general examined every expense claim made by a sitting senator between April 2011 and March 2013. This included 80,000 transactions made by 116 senators. The comprehensive audit was not cheap — it cost $21 million and almost two years of time in order to complete.

Who is named in the audit?

The audit calls out 30 senators for questionable expense claims, and invoices have been sent asking for repayment. Of those 30, nine former and current senators named in the audit whose expense claims have been referred to the RCMP.

The Toronto Star has obtained the names of the nine: Don Oliver, Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, Rod Zimmer, Colin Kenny, Rose-Marie Losier-Cool, Sharon Carstairs, Bill Rompkey, Marie Charette-Poulin, and Gerry St. Germain.

What do they have to say for themselves?

Senate Speaker Leo Housakos and Sen. James Cowan, the opposition leader in the Senate, have repaid the questionable expenses outlined in the report. Although both senators denied wrongdoing, they said they wanted to show their full support for the audit.

“I do not wish there to be any question surrounding the integrity of the process or the manner in which it was implemented,” Housakos said.

“I remain steadfast in my belief that all of my actions as a senator and now as Speaker have been in good faith, in adherence with the rules governing the Senate and most of all with due regard for Canadians.”

Sen. Nicole Eaton and Sen. Claude Carignan have also repaid expenses.

But not everyone is playing ball. Retired senator Gerry St. Germain, whose claims have been forwarded to the RCMP, said the report’s findings were “adverse, baseless and unsubstantiated.”

“My efforts now will focus on defending my hard-earned reputation and challenging a process that has been unfair and unjust,” he said

What will happen after the audit is released?

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The report is likely to call for sweeping reforms in the Senate. The Canadian Press, which viewed a copy of the report ahead of time, reported that Ferguson will call for “transformative change.”

“The weaknesses and problems uncovered in the course of this comprehensive audit of senators’ expenses call for a transformational change in the way expenses are claimed, managed, controlled, and reviewed,” the Ferguson wrote.

What is at stake?

For starters, the audit could lead to further investigation. In light of the forthcoming audit, the Senate has handed the expense records of nine senators (both sitting and retired) to the RCMP.

More generally, the dignity and future of the Senate hangs in the balance.

With files from The Canadian Press

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