Senate puts Sen. Brazeau on leave of absence; Senators say media should focus on good work of Upper Chamber too

PARLIAMENT HILL—Newly-Independent Senator Patrick Brazeau drew a crush of television cameras and surprised even Senate staff when he turned out for a Senate vote Tuesday forcing him on a leave of absence over assault charges, and was the only Senator in the nearly full Chamber to voice opposition to the government motion intended to protect the Senate’s “dignity” and “public trust in Parliament.”

In the midst of the media circus and prior to the overwhelming and rare vote, with Sen. Brazeau charged but not yet even tried or convicted on charges of assault and sexual assault after a domestic violence 911 call in Gatineau, Que., last week, governing Conservative and Liberal Senators revealed recent controversies over Sen. Brazeau, Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy, and Liberal Sen. Mac  Harb have struck nerves on both sides of the Upper Chamber. Sen. Brazeau was also kicked out of the Conservative caucus last week.

Prior to the motion from Senate Government Leader Marjory LeBreton, more than a dozen Liberal and Conservative Senators spent nearly an hour, as journalists in the packed Senate press gallery packed watched and waited for the Brazeau motion, paying tribute to one of the Senate’s most distinguished members over the past two decades, Joyce Fairbairn, who recently retiring after being stricken with Alzheimer’s disease.

And, outside the Senate before Sen. Brazeau’s spectacular arrival, a Liberal Senator told The Hill Times that the news media should also focus on the “good work” the Senate does.

“I can’t comment on those items,” Liberal Sen. Joseph Day said about the controversies, centering primarily on Sen. Brazeau and Sen. Duffy, both of whom have been accused of falsifying the location of their permanent residences to claim travel expenses in Ottawa.

“I can comment on the great work that our committee on finance did with respect to the cross-boarder shopping and the price discrepancy report, I’m just amazed at the number of people who have contacted me on that,” he said.

Asked if he was saying he and other Senators have not been affected by the affairs, Sen. Day replied: “I’m trying to tell you that it’s very important for you to recognize the good work that the Senate is doing, and we’re doing all kinds of good things, right now, and the public out there is recognizing that, and that’s important.”

Sen. Brazeau did not say a word when he was surrounded by TV crews and reporters for his surprise entrance into the Senate Chamber and later when, accompanied by an unidentified friend, he was surrounded by a phalanx of Senate security officers that kept the media pack at bay as he and his companion climbed into a late-model black SUV truck and sped down a central driveway in front of Centre Block to leave Parliament Hill.

Sen. LeBreton’s motion stated that Sen. Brazeau’s paid leave of absence will continue until the Senate rescinds the motion, most likely following a court process and a guilty plea or a trial, unless prosecutors for some reason stay the two charges. Sen. Brazeau cannot be compelled to give up his Senate seat, because the charges are being prosecuted as summary offences, rather than the more serious felony level of indictable offences.

The motion left it up to the Senate’s powerful Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration to decide whether to suspend Sen. Brazeau’s use of all or some of the Senate resources, including travel and other expenses, or even Senate premises. A Conservative told The Hill Timesthat Sen. Brazeau will likely maintain an office staff. Sen. Brazeau will also continue to collect his $132,000 annual salary.

The committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday morning.

Sen. Duffy, whose Senate expenses are under review along with Sen. Brazeau’s and Sen. Harb’s by a Senate-ordered audit by the accounting firm Deloitte, was in the Chamber for the vote, but it was not possible to see from the gallery benches whether he expressed support for Sen. LeBreton’s motion in the voice vote.

Sen. Duffy has been on the defensive after news reports of a property he owns on Prince Edward Island is not, contrary to Senate rules, his permanent residence, even though he has been claiming $21,000 a year since his appointment for travel expenses in Ottawa. Sen. Duffy owns a house in Ottawa and recently attempted to get the P.E.I. government to expedite the issuance of a provincial health card as the Senate pressed all three Senators for proof of their permanent residency.

Original Article
Source: hilltimes.com
Author:Tim Naumetz