OTTAWA—Former Liberal Senator Mac Harb has called it quits, paid his $230,000 debt to the public purse, but may collect an annual pension of $123,000 for the rest of his life.

Harb is one of four senators whose expense claims are under review by the RCMP. That review will continue, but Harb said he was done fighting the Senate, now that the auditor general will audit everyone’s claims.

Declaring it was “never about the money,” Harb cut a $180,000 cheque Monday afternoon to cover the amount outstanding from the $230,000 a Senate committee said he owed.

He submitted a letter to Governor General David Johnston announcing his intention to retire, effective immediately.

In a written release, Harb said he was also dropping his court challenge against the Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy report on his case.

It said he delivered a cheque Monday to Sen. Gerald Comeau, chair of the committee for $180,166.17, for a total reimbursement of $231,649.07.

“I have been contemplating retirement for some time as I personally never considered the Senate to be a lifetime position,” said Harb.

“These past few months have been extremely difficult for me and my family and caused me to evaluate what more I could contribute in the circumstances. My dispute with the Senate Committee on Internal Economy made working effectively in the Senate unrealistic.”

Harb, 59, has been under a cloud ever since an independent audit by Deloitte found he claimed more than $51,000 in questionable living expenses. The Senate committee ordered him to repay that amount, but then raised the total to $231,649 to include accommodation and mileage claims dating back to 2005 — as far back as Senate records go.

Harb had launched a court challenge and stepped down from Liberal caucus in May.

But Monday, he threw in the towel on a federal political career that had stretched 25 years, and began three years before that at Ottawa city hall.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation calculated Monday that Harb is entitled to his pension for his time as both MP from 1988 to 2003 and senator since then.

He can collect in full immediately, said Gregory Thomas, federal director for the group. That means, according to the federation, Harb may receive $122,989 annually, fully indexed.

In the event of Harb’s death, his surviving spouse would collect 60 per cent of his pension for life, which is not included in this calculation, the group said.

The number could not be confirmed through Harb’s lawyer or the Senate’s communications office.

Gregory Thomas, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said there’s nothing right now that stops a senator convicted of a crime from collecting his pension if he retires beforehand. He noted that former senator Raymond Lavigne receives a pension, despite having been convicted of fraud.

“He’s collecting it in jail,” Thomas told the Star. “It takes chutzpah.”

But Thomas said a private member’s bill could soon change that.

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It was introduced by John Williamson, a past director of the Taxpayers Federation and one-time spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper who went on to be elected as a Conservative MP in New Brunswick.

Williamson’s bill would deprive any senator or MP convicted of an indictable offence while in office of their public pension.

Prominent in the Lebanese-Canadian community, Harb was first appointed to the Senate by then prime minister Jean Chrétien on Sept. 9, 2003, after he had served 15 years as an MP, and three as an Ottawa city councillor.

His departure leaves six vacancies in the Senate.

Harb, who declined any further comment or interviews, said in the news release he was “proud of what was accomplished” in his political career, saying it was devoted to “improving the lives of Canadians and those living in the least developed countries.”

In the release, Harb said the court challenge was “never about the money.”

“The Senate Committee treated me very unfairly, and I wanted to make the point that every Canadian, even senators, should be entitled to due process,” said Harb.

“I always followed Senate rules on expenses, and filed my expense claims in a timely and transparent manner. At no time did anyone suggest my claims were invalid or questionable. And from what I could tell, most senators made similar claims.”

He said he welcomed a move by the federal auditor general to audit every senator, a factor in his decision to drop his court challenge.

“I have no doubt that the auditor general’s final report will vindicate me as it will show that many senators had the same understanding of the rules as I had and made similar expenses claims,” said Harb.

Harb’s lawyer, Paul Champ, said in the release that “contrary to some media reporting, the Deloitte audit commissioned by the Senate Committee did not conclude that Harb was in violation of any Senate rules on expenses, finding instead that the Senate’s rules were insufficiently clear.”

However, the Senate committee members said the rules were clear to everyone else, other than Harb, and then-Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy, Sen. Patrick Brazeau, and later in relation to travel expenses, Sen. Pamela Wallin.

Hours earlier, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair had told reporters in Ottawa that the Conservative Party should pick up the bill for expenses claimed by their appointees where there is evidence they were doing partisan business on the public dime.

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