After weeks of questions about what role, if any, the Prime Minister’s Office played in the repayment of some of Senator Mike Duffy’s expenses, very little new information is forthcoming. The authorities continue to investigate, and everyone waits. Deloitte’s audit of Senator Pamela Wallin’s expenses continues, and amid all the speculation about just how much money she might owe taxpayers, everyone waits. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said he’d welcome Senator Mac Harb, formerly a Liberal and currently independent, back into the Liberal fold if he repaid his expenses. Harb has no intention of doing so. An investigation into his expenses continues, and everyone waits. On all fronts, every party is chirping across the aisle about some sort of malfeasance: Liberals are attacking Conservatives, Conservatives are attacking Liberals, and the NDP’s attacking everybody. Noise, everywhere.
Then, last night, the Ottawa Citizen‘s Glen McGregor reported that Conservative MP Eve Adams claimed a number of objectionable expenses during the 2011 federal election, including “hundreds of dollars for repeat visits to a hair and nail salons, skin care and grooming products, and even whitening toothpaste.” The story set off a proxy war on Twitter, where McGregor and Adams barked at each other late into the night, and into this morning, about the appropriateness of Adams’ claims.
Questionable expenses have now, fairly or unfairly, spilled into the House of Commons. How far it goes is anyone’s guess. But there were 308 winning candidates in the last election, and that’s plenty of election returns to scour. The free-for-all continues.
Original Article
Source: macleans.ca
Author: Nick Taylor-Vaisey
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