Shaming the Senate
The Senate of Canada has a black eye. Not that it hasn't incurred one on earlier occasions, when some senators have been high-lighted as collecting their rather munificent salaries and rarely turning up for Senate sessions. Along with other malfeasances. It's just that Raymond Lavigne managed with great aplomb and entitlement to milk the system to his extensive advantage right royally, while delivering no value to his seat in the Senate.
Found guilty of fraud and breach of trust, he was still drawing his salary as was considered his due. The Senate, as a repository for gifting the party faithful with a distinguished executive occupation overseeing the business of the Nation as the Chamber of Sober Second Thought, no doubt seats many whose determined and earnest work on behalf of the country is invaluable.
But it does also lodge within its venerable walls self-availers with no thought of serving the country, who are involved solely with benefiting their own bottom line. And this is precisely what this Jean Chretien-appointed Liberal bag-man did, in spades.
He was found guilty on March 11 in Ontario Superior Court of defrauding the federal government in false travel claims. He abused his office by ordering his staff to work overtime on his personal property. He filed $315,355 in travel expenses in the space of 3 years, over and above his $132,300 salary. And he billed his Senate office for all manner of expenses while he was suspended from the Senate.
His sentencing hearing is to take place on May 10. If the full extent of his malfeasance is taken into account, he could face up to 14 years in prison. He claimed, after having been found guilty as charged, that the judgement was 'unfair', as he stormed out of the courtroom, shoving a reporter out of his way.
The government subsequently planned to introduce two motions; one to remove his salary, the other to remove him from the Senate and a new Montreal-area appointee named in his stead.
And then, a mere half-hour before the Senate was poised to vote on stripping him from office, which would have had the effect of also stripping him of his pension, he took the initiative and resigned. His resignation, effective immediately, has the effect of protecting his $79,000 annual pension.
So this crafty malingerer and leech off the public purse has managed to effect a procedure that will see him continuing to collect federal money supplied by the taxpayer of Canada.
Something that even Gilles Duceppe declares he finds "shameful".
Found guilty of fraud and breach of trust, he was still drawing his salary as was considered his due. The Senate, as a repository for gifting the party faithful with a distinguished executive occupation overseeing the business of the Nation as the Chamber of Sober Second Thought, no doubt seats many whose determined and earnest work on behalf of the country is invaluable.
But it does also lodge within its venerable walls self-availers with no thought of serving the country, who are involved solely with benefiting their own bottom line. And this is precisely what this Jean Chretien-appointed Liberal bag-man did, in spades.
He was found guilty on March 11 in Ontario Superior Court of defrauding the federal government in false travel claims. He abused his office by ordering his staff to work overtime on his personal property. He filed $315,355 in travel expenses in the space of 3 years, over and above his $132,300 salary. And he billed his Senate office for all manner of expenses while he was suspended from the Senate.
His sentencing hearing is to take place on May 10. If the full extent of his malfeasance is taken into account, he could face up to 14 years in prison. He claimed, after having been found guilty as charged, that the judgement was 'unfair', as he stormed out of the courtroom, shoving a reporter out of his way.
The government subsequently planned to introduce two motions; one to remove his salary, the other to remove him from the Senate and a new Montreal-area appointee named in his stead.
And then, a mere half-hour before the Senate was poised to vote on stripping him from office, which would have had the effect of also stripping him of his pension, he took the initiative and resigned. His resignation, effective immediately, has the effect of protecting his $79,000 annual pension.
So this crafty malingerer and leech off the public purse has managed to effect a procedure that will see him continuing to collect federal money supplied by the taxpayer of Canada.
Something that even Gilles Duceppe declares he finds "shameful".
Labels: Government of Canada, Life's Like That, Traditions
posted by Pieface | 7:22 PM
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