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“There are a lot Conservative senators who are very concerned about the way the government proposes to do this, so I hope they’re going to have an opportunity (Monday) to try to persuade the government to change its mind,” Cowan said. “What I would hope is that Conservative caucus would say, ‘We not only have to do the right thing, we have to appear to do the right thing and do it in the right way. Let’s have the proper process.’ And I would hope that what they would say is ‘we need to send this to a committee.’”

Hints that the Tory majority in the Senate was thinking of revising senators’ sanctions emerged Friday while the Senate debated the fates of Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau in a rare Friday sitting.

During the debate, Brazeau told senators that Carignan offered him a “backroom deal” whereby he would receive a lesser sentence if he apologized in the Senate for his inappropriate spending. Carignan has said Brazeau misunderstood him.

The Prime Minister’s Office released a statement Sunday, reiterating its support for the original motions.

“We remain firm on this important point: Senators who have already been found to have claimed inappropriate expenses should not be collecting a public paycheque,” said PMO spokesperson Jason MacDonald in an email. “They know what they did is wrong, that’s why the prime minister supports the Senate motion and wants to see them vote on it.”

And that vote may come as early as next week. When senators will return to the red chamber Monday, they will address a government motion to fast-track a vote on the senators’ punishments.

“That doesn’t seem to me to be a fair process or due process,” Cowan said. “Imagine if a judge were to say: ‘Well that’s fine, you can argue all you want but I’m not going to hear anything more after a certain point.’ “