Costly Gross Malfeasance

"We know this is a significant cost. However, once the audit was ordered, we had to allow it to be fully concluded in order to get a fair and consistent reading of the issues involved."
Senator Gerald Comeau, Senate of Canada

Four trusted and highly-respected individuals seated in the Senate of Canada by invitation of the parties in power at the time of their appointments; in the case of Marc Harb, the Liberal Party of Canada, in the instance of Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau and Pamela Wallin, the Conservative Party of Canada; former Prime Minister Jean Chretien to the former, and current Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the latter three, have all effectively demonstrated that they were unfit for their appointments.

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Their disgraceful behaviour in using their appointments to the Senate to burnish their personal reputations and in the process of representing the Senate claiming expenses they were most certainly not entitled to, in the sum of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars, has quite effectively tarnished the Red Chamber, by association. And by the very rules that the Senate has set out, loose enough for these unethical methods of self-enrichment to take place, on the premise that Senators are capable of distinguishing right from wrong.

Mistakes happen, needless to say. But erroneous claims that just keep on repeating themselves are not mistakes, they represent deliberate intention to take advantage of a system that was just lax enough to make them possible. Hovering on the brink of permissible, with tawdry overtones. But such things are not discussed in polite company, other than in hushed, scandalized whispers. And the hope that those who engage in such squalid practices will not bring attention to those among their colleagues who would never dream of underhanded motivation to scam the taxpayer.

A lot of money went wayward, into bank accounts that welcomed that money, but didn't deserve it. Senator Pamela Wallin's travel expenses alone totalled over $500,000 in the years 2009 to 2013. Ex-pen-sive! An audit of the details relating to her claimed travel expenses had a price tag on completion of $390,058. Double what it cost to perform an audit in review of inappropriate housing claims for Senators Duffy, Harb and Brazeau. The cost of the housing audits totalled $138,784.

What has been gained out of this exercise is the overdue realization that due diligence, trust and integrity were laid aside, and as a result unethical behaviour rose to the occasion. The Senate has charged all four senators with inaccuracy in their claims, and asked them to surrender those portions of their expenses which haven't passed the smell test, to the total of $520,000. To reclaim that amount the Senate found itself paying out $528,842 for accounting proof of malfeasance.

Pamela Wallin has repaid roughly $150,000 which includes interest on travel claims that she found on her own initiative to have been improperly submitted to the Senate by some strange alchemy of misunderstanding of the rules, or which auditors and the Senate's internal economy committee discovered not to have been part of her duties as a senator. None of which should be considered as reason to believe Senator Wallin did anything improper.

She vehemently and confidently denies wrongdoing on her part.

Former Senator Mac Harb, under duress, and claiming injured innocence, repaid about $231,00 in disallowed housing claims. And then, withdrew his intention to bring a lawsuit against the Senate to recover that payback and his deservedly bruised reputation. Deciding in the final analysis of his own situation that he would be far better off resigning from the Senate, which move enabled him to retain his cushy, gold-plated parliamentary pension.

Senator Mike Duffy has engaged his penchant for spite, back-biting and splenetic nastiness, insisting he has been victimized; an innocent man with a heart condition, a passionate Conservative, and true Canadian who would never imagine doing anything deleterious to the government he enjoys being part of, and the country whose taxpayers he wholesomely respects. But since the current government and its prime minister have abandoned their loyal servant, he intends to drag them into the muck and mire he is himself accustomed to waddling about it.

Senator Patrick Brazeau is angry, and he's just not going to take it any more. He will willingly pay back nothing relating to his inadmissible housing allowance claims, because like those of the other three there was nothing wrong with them; he was entitled to those claims along with his $135,000 annual salary. Leaving the Senate little option but to garnishee part of his wages to recoup about $49,000 in living expenses he was not entitled to.

The Senate, while in the process of voting whether to finalize a plan to suspend the four from the Senate without pay for a two year penalty period for bringing disgrace and scorn to the Chamber of Sober Second thought, may still permit them to receive health and dental benefits, along with life insurance, though in fact all four should be summarily booted out.