The Senate standing committee on internal economy, budgets and administration that called in external auditors to examine the living expenses the three senators claimed for their time spent working in the Ottawa area tabled reports for each of them Thursday recommending they pay back the money they were given from April 1, 2011 to March 31 of this year plus interest.
All three reports acknowledged the auditors from Deloitte found that criteria for determining primary residence, which must be at least 100 kilometres away from Parliament Hill for senators to be eligible for up to $22,000 in annual living expenses, to be lacking in the rules and guidelines.
Two of the reports — the ones addressing the expenses of Harb and Brazeau — disagreed with that finding and concluded the forms senators sign when declaring their primary and secondary residences in order to receive the living allowance is clear enough for them to have known better.
“Your subcommittee considers this language to be unambiguous and, plainly, if a senator resides primarily in the (National Capital Region), he or she should not be claiming living expenses for the (National Capital Region),” read the reports for Harb and Brazeau.
The report tabled on Duffy does not express any disagreement with this finding of ambiguity by Deloitte and even goes so far as to say that the committee is addressing the issue.
“The three senators signed the same form. They read the same rules, the same policies (and) the same guidelines. If that form and rules and guidelines were clear in the case of Harb and Brazeau, why wouldn’t you say the same thing with respect to the forms that Sen. Duffy signed?” Liberal Senate Leader James Cowan asked Friday.
Conservative Sen. David Tkachuk, who chairs the committee on internal economy, did not respond to messages Friday. Duffy could not be reached for comment either.
Another source close to the deliberations said the reason is that Duffy defended himself by saying he found the whole issue of primary residence confusing.
“The Senate rules on housing allowances aren’t clear, and the forms are confusing,” Duffy said in a statement emailed to media in February as he offered to reimburse the expenses.
Duffy, who declared his primary residence to be a cottage in Cavendish, P.E.I., the province he represents in the Senate, already reimbursed the $90,172 he claimed for mortgage payments on his home in Kanata, about 22 kilometres away from Parliament Hill as well as mileage, meals and incidentals while in the Ottawa area.
Harb, who is asked to refund $51,482, has resigned from the Liberal caucus as he prepares to fight the findings in court.
Brazeau, who has been asked to repay $48,744 and is on a forced leave of absence from the Senate while facing charges of assault and sexual assault, has not commented on the report.
Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Joanna Smith
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