And I would have been the first Senator ever to pay my own damned living expenses out of my salary – like people living in the real world do. (Open thread.)
And I would have been the first Senator ever to pay my own damned living expenses out of my salary – like people living in the real world do. (Open thread.)
No Kate, No!
Don’t dive in the trough!
– it’s way too comfy (and crowded I hear) and you never get out with your integrity intact. 😉
I like so many things this Gov’t and Harper are doing but you really have to wonder how smart these people are. Just like the old Devine crew who after they were caught pleaded that they were duped, or they weren’t sophisticated money handlers etc. The irony of course is that when these people are seeking election they are out telling everyone how smart they are and how good at governing and looking after our money.
This Senate spending likely isn’t Harpers fault as I expect it has been going on for decades but certainly Harper had the opportunity to stop it.
And what’s with the guy who gave money to Duffy? How dumb can this guy be or did he have a political death wish. This has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve heard of, how could he not know of the repercussions?
And lastly, what’s with Duffy? Here is a guy who was likely paid well for most of his broadcasting career and certainly so in the Senate but he doesn’t have the funds to pay a 90K debt or he can’t borrow the money?
You just want to slap someone.
Just one sip. All I’m asking for is one little sip. Big oil hasn’t paid up, still waiting for that case of beer from the Saskies, and the Koch brothers? “NEVER HEARD OF HER”.
BTW: While you were glued to the phone waiting for a senate appointment I was a regular down at the provincial elections office waiting to see the list of candidates applying for the senatorial elections Mr. Harper promised in his senate reform package. I guess we both go home empty handed, eh?
You can’t tell that a Liberal Senator has the same problem, and that he has no friends to bail him out. “Progressives” can’t understand that there are people in the world who have the means to help out friends. “Progressives” are to selfish to help out others using their own money, every one of them thinks that help only comes from the government. That is what offends them the most, that someone has so much money that they could actually write a cheque for $90,000 and not have to mortgage the house.
There is so much else happening out there in the Canadian news sphere, but the sharks smell a tiny bit of blood in the water and start to circle. Have they not learned after all of the other press manufactured scandles?
It’s time to open up to the public all expenses charged by Senators and MPs. I have no problem with them getting a modest housing allowance to support an apartment in Ottawa, but beyond that feed your face from your salary.
Shameful behaviour. How anyone involved thought that the “loan” was appropriate should rethink their code if ethics. The root cause of course is the entitlement mentality and lack of accountability of public servants but I expect conservatives to know better. Harper should let Conservative crooks hang because 1)it’s the right thing to do 2)a coverup revealed is 10x as bad as the original problem. The CPC needs to clean up their act.
Speaking of shameful, did anyone catch the At Issue panel on the CBC last week? Andrew Coyne’s rant about “backwood hicks” should have been met with the same revulsion as describing someone as acting like a “white Indian”. It wasn’t of course even though the intent is virtually identical. It was given glowing reviews by our moral and intellectual superiors in the media and progressives. The difference??? White Indian is used only by bigots while referring to backwood hicks is said by a class acts like Andrew “Bubba” Coyne. He might want to rethink his values, too.
If you where in the Senate Kate. The men there would have a permanent case of shrinkage.
In fear of being exposed on how short there comings are as representatives of so called “Sober second thoughts). You would make their mistresses very unhappy.
The game playing would not end ,but be curtailed.
Having been ushered in on a wave of discontent from the free spending LIEberal ways and a raft of brown envelopes; Nigel Wright was obviously have an monumental ‘brain fart’, if he thought that loaning money from staff in the PMO to a sitting legislative Senate member wouldn’t have any repercussions.
The APPEARANCE of a CONFLICT OF INTEREST is all the meat you need to throw in the water to the Media Party sharks.
This is so bald faced stupid that it defies any and all logic.
In the event that Senator Mike Duffy was offside on expenses; the logical thing to do was for him to go down to the nearest BANK and take out a loan to obtain bridge financing until he could arrange his affairs properly. This would have completely avoided the PERCEPTION of conflict of interest.
Oh and BTW I’m available to warm up any Senate seat you like…
Cheers
Hans Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
Too sane, too smart and too honest.
That said if one is eligible for jury duty and not active in party politics, then they are proper candidates for the senate.
The Senate does have a use, destruction of stupid laws.
Sober, Second thoughts and repeal of duplicated and useless legislation.
We are victims of law fare by the lawyers we continually elect.
You are a criminal under Canadian Law, ignorance of the law is no excuse.
We have so many laws and obscure amendments, so that you can not escape.
Property Owners appear to be a criminal class, try defending your property from theft or vandalism.
Bureaucracy is Kleptocracy.
Politics is all about power, the Senate as a check and balance to protect the commons? Not working.
Appointing political bagmen and party hacks does not do anything for my Canada.
However Senate, Parliament it matters not, these professional parasites will not voluntarily withdraw their fangs from the throat of Canada.
Nothing will change their thieving ways. This is their nature.
We need to withdraw the bait, that draws them and starve the beast.
10% was all the Vatican took, they ruled Europe for 600 years.
Taxes of 29% to 99% it will never be enough for our political bureaucracy.
Business like this I think will damage the CPC base. I’m as conservative as u can get but i truly despise the creeping entitlement mentality of the gumit bigwigs.
To have to endure this stupidity from a gov’t that seems to have gone invisible on general conservative principles is doubly galling.
There should be a CPC forensic accounting unit in the future to vette all CPC appointments – let the Libs fall into the scandal plagued waters. Human nature just can’t be trusted. Don’t want to play by the rules – forget the appointment then.
I don’t like seeing my brand tarnished. It’s bad when Libs do it – twice as bad when CPC does it.
Just me ‘umble ‘pinion.
My biggest beef is that Duffy has single handedly set back the cause of Senate reform by 20 years or so. It was bad enough that lots of senators were diligently uninterested in the cause, but Duffy managed to score a goal against his own team on this one. Pamela Wallin’s issues seem more of a “guilt by association” thing, but Duffy gives every appearance of having decided to live high on the taxpayer teat. Thanks, Mike.
no note from the MSM that the journalists,duffy , wallin and the queen of them all Adrienne Clarkson and the princess Michelle Jean are all the superspenders with the sense of entitlement .
all journalists
There are currently no openings in the Senate for a Nova Scotian representative, but I’m encouraging the watchdogs to examine the accounts of Liberal Senator Terry Mercer, who, as I understand it, has spent more on travel than any other Senator.
I am a bit irritated by the assumption that Mr Harper can just “reform” the Senate on his say-so. Its internal operations, like those of the Commons, are governed by an *all-party* committee, which is not accountable to the Prime Minister. He can advise, bluster, or cajole, but it is an important parliamentary principle that the Houses of Parliament manage their own affairs.
That said, one of the most unfortunate aspects of this tawdry business is the demonizing of the decent, hard-working, and responsible members of the Senate, many of whom have been appointed by Mr Harper. Someone needs to let the Prime Minister know that it *never* pays for a Conservative to suck up to journalists and other “media personalities”. If the Senate is to be a place for “sober second thought”, then its appointees ought usually to be sober and capable of a first thought as well.
From the actual Deloitte audit:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/ciba/rep/Deloitte_SenDuffy-e.pdf
5.1.1. Repayment of living allowance by Senator Duffy
We have received documentation from Senator Duffy’s counsel indicating that Senator Duffy has repaid
$90,172.24 related to housing allowances, represented by a total expense amount of $81,332.54 for the
2008/2009 to 2012/2013 fiscal years, plus $8,839.70 in interest. The amount of repayment was based on
a calculation provided to Senator Duffy by the Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets
and Administration as outlined in a letter dated February 27, 2013 signed by Senator Tkachuk.
For the period of our examination, the amount of expenses repaid was $19,989.58 for the 2011/2012
fiscal year, and $17,126.12 for the 2012/2013 fiscal year (representing a longer period than our
examination period which ends on September 30, 2012).
Deloitte was not involved in the determination of the amount that was repaid by Senator Duffy.
6.2. Occurrence of travel
We have reviewed Senator Duffy’s claims related to travel from his declared primary residence and
Ottawa to, assess whether these trips occurred or could have occurred.
Conclusion
Overall, we have assessed that all of trips between Ottawa/Gatineau and PEI claimed by Senator Duffy
occurred. All of his trips are supported by boarding passes and other supporting documents related to
travel expenditures, in addition to his location being confirmed by the telephone records.
6.3. Claim subject to repayment to the Receiver General
We identified one group of days where Senator Duffy submitted expense claims for per diems during a
time period when he does not appear to have been in Ottawa.
Our review of telephone records indicate that Senator Duffy was located in Florida, United States, from
January 12, 2012 to January 28, 2012, confirmed by telephone communications on eleven (11) of
seventeen (17) days during this period.
Claim T64-20171 – $1,050.60
Claim T64-15839 relates to Senator Duffy’s living expenses in the NCR, including 27 days of private
accommodation, plus 18 days of per diem at $87.55 per day.
Included in these claims were twelve (12) days of per diems during the period where Senator Duffy
appears to be located in Florida, United States, for a total amount of $1,050.60 (12 days at $87.55 per
day).
Based on the information available, it does not appear that Senator Duffy was eligible for per diem
payments for the twelve days while he was in Florida, United States. As such, we have identified this
amount as subject to repayment to the Receiver General.
So according to Deloitte the actual disallowed expenses were per diems totaling $1050.60 which is a little bit different than the spin generated by item #5 which Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration disallowed in Senator Tkachuk’s letter back in February 2013.
This still doesn’t explain Nigel Wright ‘fronting a loan’ to Senator Duffy whilst engaged in the PMO to a sitting legislative member…
Cheers
Hans Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
To add to Roseberry above. We have this little thing called a constitution. Harper simply can’t change the Senate without the agreement of 7 provinces containing at least 50 % of the population. The whining that would ensue from Quebec would be deafening should the constitution be re-opened. As Roseberry noted, Harper doesn’t control the Senate and senators can’t be fired unless there are 12 witnesses to the murder or something like that. Besides that, I am not convinced the senators in question are guilty of anything other than following the same procedures used for 150 years. Senator Brazeau met every requirement that the auditors used for residency and is still in poo. I think that the whole process might be a witch hunt targeting people certain senators don’t like. The demand that the RCMP be involved is disturbing as Parliament has always handled ethics on its own and the RCMP have fascist motives, at best.
Kate, don’t sit around waiting for the phone to ring, have someone recommend you for the Senate. It would have to be someone who knows you well,so they can list your qualifications.
I recommended a person who would be an excellent Senator, twice,and received the usual “thank you for your input” letter from the PMO.
My candidate has a sterling background of national (military) service,community service,has held management and technical positions with important companies in private industry and government. He is also a long time member of the Conservative Party and works hard for them at the local level every election.
BUT, he isn’t a Party insider, he isn’t one of the political elite,and that’s the problem,and that would be your problem also.
They are more concerned with having a loyal ass-kisser in the Senate than an intelligent experienced person who CAN give “sober second thought” to tabled Bills.
Duffy is a big disappointment,a guy I thought had some sense of integrity, but seems to just want to squeeze every nickel out of the taxpayer he can.
The Conservatives are experiencing the “death by a thousand cuts” method of attack by the Opposition Parties, LPC,NDP,and Media party,and the effect will be cumulative by 2015.
If Stephen Harper doesn’t do something resolute in short order, this tactic is going to work.
NO KATE, NOT ONE SIP!
Remember you’re for the “war on drugs”. For de-illegalizing drugs.
That one sip would be your ruination! You must not pine for this lethal drug!
And you’re a doll, not a whore.
poodles?
Oh Oh!
Another thing he can do: Stop calling the Canadian federal government, “the Harper government”.
Funny how he seems mystified as to where this culture of entitlement comes from.
I assume the audits of the Conservative Senators is part of a comprehensive audit on ALL Senators.
If anyone is caught padding their expenses, they should be fired. Party affiliation is irrelevant.
Is it just Conservatives being put under the microscope?
I am always amused when some indignant person huffs about the phrase “the Harper government” being used by a member of that government. I agree completely that we should use terms like “the Government of Canada” or “the federal government”, etc. If, however, you spend as much time as I do with the Democratic People’s Broadcaster playing in the background, you would know that the Media Party follow a specific protocol: if the Government does something it likes, it refers to an action taken by “Canada” or “the federal government” or “the Government of Canada”; if it does something, anything (and that includes just about everything) that it doesn’t like, the culprit is “the Harper Government” or, even better, “the Harper Conservatives”.
I just assumed that Mr Harper’s team was “reappropriating” the term, much like other supposedly socially marginalized groups have “reappropriated” words like “f*a*g*t” or “n*g*er”.
Surprise, surprise. You put a pig in a palace, and he still behaves like a hog.
Thirty-five years ago a senior police officer I worked with had to attend court in another detachement area. The trip required an overnight stay.
At the end of the month he submitted a paltry $30.00 motel room receipt on his expense account. When it was later determined that he had actually stayed at a friend’s place on that particular night, he was given 7 days to submit his resignation or be fired.
He resigned. At least he walked away with a bit of dignity.
The Senate would be better served, and the country with it, if they appointed 100 people chosen entirely randomly from around the country. Put ’em up in a hotel, let them live on FIFTY thousand a year, and buy their own beer.
Unlike Kate, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do that Senate job. Mostly because I’d be unable to keep from choking somebody when d@mn-fool legislation crossed my desk.
The speaker in the Senate would be forever saying things like
“Would Senator McMillian, the Independent Senator for Saskatchewan, please refrain from making fun of the other Senators. It’s bad for their self-esteem.”
“Also, would she please use the parking lot for her motorcycle instead of riding it into the Red chamber and parking it beside her desk.”
doowleb “If anyone is caught padding their expenses, they should be fired.”
Who would you suggest fire them? There is this thing called a constitution which gives five reasons they can be fired, none of which has anything to do with padded expense accounts. Just as Harper cannot fire an MP, he cannot fire a senator. The problem with the senate is they changed the rules on expenses after 150 years and didn’t tell anyone. As I said, they tried to throw the Indian under the bus and ended up catching Harper’s pets. Brazeau looks like the most honest of the bunch.
Jamie
when U or I do it, it is one thing, when some one paid out of the public purse, it is quite different. Yes, I used to travel a lot, and yup, I used to “rig” the expense account, but it was a private company that I worked for, not the tax payers!!
Something has bothered me about this. It seems like a media witch hunt to me. Sure, Duffy should not have claimed the expenses — but when that happens, you return the money. So what exactly is he being pilloried for? Other Senator’s get paid for keeping up two residences when the constituency they represent is at a distance and the main thing that seems to differ between Duffy and the rest has to do with what he is calling his primary residence. In his case, he has a heart problem so I don’t blame him for wanting to retain his Ottawa residence near the Heart Institute as the primary one, but does that mean he should get no reimbursement for expenses related PEI properties? Get rid of all the housing subsidies if they are unwarranted — that’s fine — but I do not agree with targeting Duffy more than anyone else. Duffy only made the claim for the housing reimbursement — but he is not the administrator of the funds. Sometimes you claim things on a tax return thinking you are eligible for something and when it turns out you are not, you pay back any refunds or pay extra. The Ottawa press are angry at Duffy for breaking ranks. This has now gotten way more attention than his original transgression warranted.
wafer: ” but certainly Harper had the opportunity to stop it. ” I doubt Harper could have stopped this, but he now may be in a better postion to take action. I think the housing subsidy probably reflects something also given to MP’s — usually if the House gets a perk, the Senate does also. If Harper were to take away the housing subsidy for Senators, he would have to get the agreement of the Senate. Also, when you appoint people, you go on their record so far. Sometimes people are not as ethical as you originally thought they were. It is unreasonable to take issue with Harper or the Conservatives on this.
Excellent summery Roseberry!! And the add on by scar – equally excellent. This cess pool in the ‘other’ house has no relationship with the House of Commons. The msm pile on is a squawk because the cess pool at CBC stinks to high heaven and some of the ‘entitled’ in that dung heap are digging in with their cheap plastic booties because they are feeling threatened by cuts to the budget of that useless outfit.
The Prime Minister would do himself well to appoint Kate to fill in for a disgraced Pam (former CBC hack) and he should rid himself of Duffy (another msm hack) and Munson is in there too.
I sense knives are out for PMSH and I pray for him and his family. I do not know what Nigel did or what his motives were…I think that there is a lot more to this story. I do trust PMSH; I believe him…others, not so much (esp. the PC ilk that are still sulking in their closets). As you have said above, doowleb @ 4:20 ALL senators, MP’s, bureaucrates abd union head haunchos should have expenses reviewed and posted on line. All living former members should also be reviewed and repayments of theft from the taxpayers should be collected retoactively. Also any inside trading benefiting former or present sitting MPs and senators should be examined and judged – taxpaying citizens would read results on line and do the judging.
Let the games begin!
Hans; there is nothing illegal with a gift as long as it is declared. This is likely chump change to Wright.
Pat Martin accepted $10K from union friends and nada from the MSM.
Duffy has to maintain two households. What does that cost in Ottawa?
Bob Rae’s expenses are about $140K per year. He lives in Toronto??
This BS is very much like the $9 glass of orange juice. If you want talent, you have to pay for it. Otherwise all you have are the smart ones like Adrian Dix.
If you want talent, you have to pay for it.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA So um, we’ve payed. No where’s our ‘talent’?
I watched Peter Mansbridge with Andrew, Chantal and Bruce about ten minutes ago. He is still on with other pundits.
There were two segments using one a Mr Mulcair and Mr Trudeau in the legislature. If certain of them are drooling with the prospect of flattening the Prime Minister, they are disguising it well, but then CBC are absolute masters at this game.
I wonder about the Canadian public on this issue. One of the best and most beautiful times of the year for many in Sault Ste Marie. I see people scurrying to the local mall to buy plants and various items for their front lawns. I dare not ask.
“Much Ado About Nothing?
Chump change or not, you leave the proper ‘paper trail’, so you don’t give the chattering classes an avenue to regale the media with stories of possible ‘wrongdoing’.
Otherwise, we get the endless rounds of speculation wrt brown envelopes of cash, a la Mulcair, Mulroney, sponsorship scandal, and on and on.
Agreed, there is nothing wrong with a gift as long as it is documented as such.
Cheers
Hans Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
I have certain reservations about Stephen Harper on other issues, but this does seem to be more of a long-term problem with Ottawa insiders in general, not restricted to conservatives. Anyway, this is what we get for making nice with faux-cons from the red Tory background to buy a little “respect” in the mainstream media. That required the shoving of social conservatives either under or off the bus, some complained at the time, others seemed to take the approach anything better than Liberals, even these bus marks on my rear end.
As to Nigel Wright paying the bill, that’s an irony in itself, that the biggest scandal so far in this government’s history involves repaying a debt. I feel that all of this is like a 2 on the 10 point scale where Sponsorgate was maybe a 7, Airbus a 6 and the green economic boondoggle an 11.
And what are the chances of our trusty newshounds covering either the unpaid Liberal debts, or the green economic fraud, any time soon? That would be a chance for this key to get a look in — 0.
Zero.
No chance. Let’s get back to burying the Tories, they say, it’s Justin time. Now that has economic stewardship written all over it.
Oh and by the way, economic accountability? What do we get for our seven hundred million given to the CBC to serve as p.r. firm for the Liberal Party of Canada. I know what they get, but what do we get? The shaft, as always.
” If certain of them are drooling with the prospect of flattening the Prime Minister they are disguising it well” Not so on CTV. The coverage of the Duffy issue on Power Play was relentless, and the reporters practically salivating at the prospect that this “scandal” could turn into something big. Things like: “7 years, that’s about right for corruption, entitlement blah, blah” — totally ignoring that Duffy is not even an elected official. I am getting to where I think some of the media heads are not very bright.
At the risk of being the fly in the ointment (which I’m prepared to take on a strictly non-partisan basis, generally, in favour of all Senators), I’m sure that you know that being a Senator would require you to maintain two residences — one in Ottawa (you’d need a place to hang your Toby Keith hat, and/or your Zac Brown tuque) and one in Saskatchewan.
As of 1867, at the time of writing of the British North America Act, you would have had to have owned a piece of property, in your home province, worth $4,000, net, net, net. Which would be something like $600,000 or so, today — judging by the entirely worthwhile boom currently going on in Western Canada (which, I might add, did not strictly exist in 1867). As it happens, my great-grandfather bought the property where I am sitting right now in Ontario for $4,000 in 1917 — on a power of sale, and the ratio of prices now to then is about 150 times, in our market, at least. Not that the $4,000 figure has changed in the constitution, but it wouldn’t buy you much today.
So, just as a general proposition, is $1,355 per month — in Ottawa — really, really going to cover your extra costs? That was the per-month equivalent Mike Duffy paid back for the period since becoming a Senator, according to the current controversy, which has been well documented in Hans’s second post. So he owes $1,050 bucks; I’m sure he can he pay it.
As to salary — it’s $132,200 per year, less, say, 37% percent for income taxes and pension contribution (which I don’t think would kick until you were 75): so the net would be about $83,000. Are you still sure you’d want to pay your living expenses out of that? You’ve done more than anybody to build this country up, and I, for one, would not be so niggardly as to say that that would be all your contribution in Ottawa would be worth.
As to Mr. Duffy, I’m guessing, of course, but I’m pretty certain that he was never Canada’s top paid journalist (that honour, I’m sure, goes to my neighbour, who we get, er, to see some nights on The National). I think that Mr. Duffy and his wife probably worked hard to pay off their mortgage in Ottawa (which is an expensive market), and that, like most folks who worked for a big outfit, he had to pay into a pension plan, with a $5,500 annual RSP limit, over and above — just like many others. His cottage in PEI appears to be nice, but it’s not what I would call anything special. I’m guessing that his investments in the market, as is the case with many or most of us, are no better than break even at the moment and locked in. On top of that, since he’s a sixty-seven-year-old multiple heart by-pass survivor (if memory serves, and which I thought was an important part of the narrative in the lead up to him being appointed Senator in the first place — drawing attention to the plight of many Canadians who have to live with arteriosclerosis), I’m guessing that he has neither a lot of cash on hand, nor that much life insurance nor a big short-term borrowing ability. By the same token, I’m guessing that he didn’t shoot his bolt in Las Vegas or Macau, or some place — I’m sure we’d have heard about that by now if he had. So what if Nigel Wright, who is differently circumstanced on account of an alternative career path or whatever, helped him out?
And the Liberal-media axis of disinformation doesn’t need to get up their high horse about separation of legislative and executive functions, which is not a feature, supposed or otherwise, blah, blah, blah, of our system. Quite apart from which, I well remember Mr. Trudeau, Sr. appointing Peter Stollery, MP for Spadina (the safest Liberal seat in the country at the time, supposedly), to the Senate to clear the way for a by-election for Jim Coutts, Mr. Trudeau, Sr.’s Principal Private Secretary, which Mr. Coutts then proceeded to lose to Dan Heap, the NDP candidate (and Anglican priest, at the time). And, quite quite apart from which, I don’t think I need to hear too much about how the Tories have suffered from their association with former media types — this is more about the media than about the Tories; Mr. Duffy’s and Ms. Wallin’s former colleague at CTV, Jim Munson, was appointed to the Senate by Mr. Chretien in 2003 — two days before the latter’s leaving office (a la Trudeau, Sr.-Turner, 1984), after working in Mr. Chretien’s office.
As far as I am concerned, so long as there’s no taxpayer money missing, the state has no business in the personal bank books of the nation. I’m sorry to see Stephen Harper not be more willing to make the case for his appointees. As for your living expenses, when you get there, don’t be too quick to give away your allowances — the country can afford you.
And today we get a Ottawa mandated course of Values and Ethics. Funny it was the exact same thing as the Libs did when their senior people got caught being stupid, force all the rank and file to take the course when the avearge clerical worker has a better grasp of ethics than their bosses.
David Southam — most interesting. My take on this is that it has been a personal vendetta against Duffy (possibly related to his suing Frank Magazine.) On of the former Frank journalists (Glen McGregor) has been peddling the story of Duffy’s residences and he was a former Frank employee. I gather that Duffy suing Frank did not go over very well at the time. While Duffy did declare his PEI residence as his primary residence, presumably in order to qualify for the housing subsidy, he like other Senators should be eligible for the additional cost of two residences regardless of how they are designated. I think this was a pretty minor misstep on his part. The forms would have been filled out when he was new to the Senate and probably not totally clear on the rules. He probably should have asked for some sort of exemption that would allow him to collect for any extra costs (e.g. renting the winter apartment in PEI) while being able to have Ottawa as his primary residence for purposes of health coverage. Duffy’s original error is perfectly forgivable in my view.
Regarding the $90,000 — I am not sure what was behind this. Again it is breaking something in the rule book, but in this case, tax payers are being paid back, rather than money being taken from taxpayers, so pretty minor on the scale of things. Florida expenses were an error — I accept that. Regarding the rumours of party business being done at taxpayers expense, there is a catch 22 here. Essentially, Senate business is anything a Senator says is Senate business and if travelling so as to meet citizens and talk to them about their concerns is Senate business, so be it. Now there is something amiss with this free-for-all, but that is a bigger Senate problem that must be solved. Duffy is simply caught in the cross-fire — and the vindictive and malicious media wprking hard to take him down. I actually hope he does not resign and eventually sees his name cleared.
The problem with the “story” is that it has transmogrified, seamlessly, apparently, without discrimination as to the facts or principles involved. The media, who have never accepted Mr. Harper as the legitimate prime minister, were looking for a take-down, as they always have been and continue to be: they focused first on the ethical conduct of a particular appointment (Mr. Duffy), or a group of appointments, in an effort to cast doubt upon Mr. Harper’s competence and/or ethics. When that thread appeared to become blunted, they switched to something completely different — with the same ultimate objective.
My points are simply these:
1. As long as the “Unreformed Senate of Canada”, to use Eugene Forsey’s book title, remains unreformed (Mr. Trudeau, Sr. did nothing to reform it; Mr. Mulroney made some effort, however reluctantly, including appointing Stan Waters — and promptly got whacked unceasingly over the head over the whole business, etc.), Senators deserve a living allowance: it would be better that they showed up for work, rather than not, or quit, IMO. I would never again want to see the day, which I witnessed in 1977, when John Reynolds left federal politics because he could not financially afford to continue as an MP. Mr. Reynolds more than matched Allan J. MacEachen in the category of butt-heads-together tactical genius: if he had stayed on, the history of the country might well have been different.
2. How Mr. Duffy managed to repay his disallowed living expenses is important only in terms of what it cost the taxpayers.
Whether Mr. Duffy did anything unethical, and whether he gets to clear his name, is a different issue, and remains to be conclusively determined.
Those ZOG cheques have gotta be pretty lavish, though, right?
If only I could press like on this comment 100 times.