"Things were done that were improper, but everybody's trying to make these things into major scandals. They are not. These are bumps in the road," Sen. Dave Tkachuk said in an interview with The StarPhoenix Sunday from his Saskatoon home.
Tkachuk has been in the national spotlight for months, chairing the committee investigating the spending of senators such as Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin. Both have repaid tens of thousands in inappropriate expense claims and the Senate has referred Duffy's case to the RCMP.
The Conservatives faced other recent controversies, from the mysterious $90,000 cheque written to Duffy by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff to official rebukes of some Saskatchewan MPs for unprofessional conduct during the electoral boundary debate.
Tkachuk dismissed a suggestion the Harper government is facing the similar pattern of rapid decline as other once seemingly invincible Conservative regimes.
Tkachuk served as principal secretary for Grant Devine when he won the largest majority in Saskatchewan election history to that point. Devine served two terms, but the party was wiped out following a spending scandal and other unpopular policies. Tkachuk was also a longtime federal Conservative worker, and was appointed to the Senate in 1993 by Brian Mulroney.
Mulroney won the largest majority in Canadian history and served two terms, but resigned with a 21 per cent approval rating before the party was decimated in the next election.
Tkachuk said the current woes facing the Conservatives pale in comparison to the sponsorship scandal of previous Liberal administrations which, in part, led to victory for Harper.
"The Liberal party survived. We will survive," Tkachuk said.
Tkachuk also gave a vigorous defence of the Senate. Some have called for major reforms, while others including Premier Brad Wall have mused about abolishing the upper chamber altogether.
Tkachuk said he has long favoured reforms to create an elected Senate, "but I don't agree with elimination.
Tkachuk said "all great countries" have a bicameral system which offers more accountability. Tkachuk said the process has been extremely stressful, but was confident the Senate will emerge stronger than ever.
As for his committee's investigation of Wallin and others, Tka-chuk confirmed Wallin has repaid $38,000 for inappropriate claims to this point. He denied reports she could be asked to repay $20,000 more.
Tkachuk said the Senate committee will hear this week from auditors about their timelines for completing their investigation of Wallin's claims. Tkachuk said he hoped it would be complete by the end of June, but will now likely take longer.
He expects criticism about the lengthy process, but said he'd probably come under just as much fire if they limited its scope to hurry things along.
"This is very difficult, but this is politics. Everyone has their own agenda," he said.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Jason Warick
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