“The administration had dealt with some of her issues and she had dealt with some of them herself and had pointed out some problems,” Tkachuk told the Star Wednesday as he attempted to clarify some of the questions surrounding the origins of the probe.
“She paid back some money previous to the audit and then she paid back after the audit,” said Tkachuk, the outgoing chair of the powerful Senate committee investigating suspicious living and travel claims.
$38,000 and could be asked to pay back an additional $20,000 after her colleagues hear back from auditors at the forensic accounting firm Deloitte.
Tkachuk, who will resign as chair of the committee on internal economy, budgets and administration following its Thursday meeting to undergo preventative treatment for bladder cancer this summer, would not elaborate on the timing or amount of repayments.
“There (were) a number of payments, so just leave it at that,” said Tkachuk.
Wallin has not responded to recent questions about the contents of the external review of her expenses or any repayments, explaining she will comment only after the report is released.
She left the Conservative caucus last month.
Meanwhile, Tkachuk’s office confirmed Harb will now be expected to reimburse taxpayers $231,649 in claimed living expenses and mileage.
A report from the Senate internal economy committee had originally recommended ordered Harb to repay $51,482, but also recommended an internal investigation into his travel patterns and expense claims go further back than the period examined by Deloitte.
Harb, who left the Liberal caucus and is challenging the findings of the initial report, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
In the interview, Tkachuk also said the decision to take a closer look at the travel claims submitted by Wallin, his fellow senator from Saskatchewan, was unrelated to how little money she expensed for flying to the province she represents when compared to the amounts claimed for travel to elsewhere in Canada.
Senate quarterly expense reports for the period from Sept. 1, 2010, to Feb. 28 this year show Wallin claimed just $30,238 for “regular” travel between Ottawa and Saskatchewan, while billing $321,842 for “other” travel to elsewhere in Canada and around the world.
Wallin has blamed Senate accounting rules, saying only direct flights between Ottawa and Saskatchewan — where she declares her primary residence to be in Wadena, Sask. — are counted as regular travel.
If she flies to Saskatchewan from elsewhere, including Toronto, where she owns a condo, it distorts the numbers, she has said.
This was the focus of news reports when it was first revealed Wallin was having her expenses examined by external auditors, but Tkachuk said that was never an issue.
“She got a bad break,” Tkachuk said.
Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Joanna Smith
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