Why, They're Simply Entitlements...!

Ah, the Red Chamber of Parliament. The hugely respected Senate of Canada. Which has seen its reputation for responsible behaviour on the part of a number of ethically-challenged Senators take a tumble in the last few years when it was revealed that some in the Chamber don't give it a second thought about claiming significant expenses for which they are not entitled. Oh well, it's only taxpayer-funded money they're claiming as their just due.

An overview of a ceremony in the Senate. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

"The total, including those (roughly ten senators who should be referred to the RCMP) that we will be reporting on is about 30."
"A lot of our message around the Senate audit will be talking about accountability and transparency"
Michael Ferguson, Auditor General of Canada

"The appointment of an independent arbitrator ensures that questions of reimbursement will be dealt with in a timely and fair fashion."
"All decisions by the special arbitrator and CIBA [the standing committee on internal economy, budgets and administration] will be made public, in line with our commitment to transparency and accountability."
Senate Speaker Leo Housakos, chairman of CIBA

The Auditor General's audit teams undertook an intensive review of two years of spending receipts on the part of 117 past and current senators. Travel spending, telephone calls, office contracts, lunch receipts and residency claims were all examined closely. This two-year exercise points to housing and travel claims to be the most questionable of all expense claims. Some of the claims are in excess of $100,000.

Thirty former and current Senators appear to have been of most interest to the auditors; their claims setting off alarm bells. Of that number 20 have begun repaying expense claims. The remaining ten have had their claims referred to the RCMP for deeper scrutiny revolving around criminal charges. The audit itself will have cost the government about $21 million to pursue.

Those Senators who face serious allegations of improper spending, most of whom are now retired will have an avenue of appeal open to them, through a special arbitrator. The Senate committee on internal economy has announced the appointment of a retired Supreme Court judge to resolve any disputes from Senators who choose to challenge the audit findings.

For those Senators who will be charged with a criminal offence and who may be found guilty in a court of law, perhaps it would represent the full weight of justice to deny them their fairly hefty retirement benefits. Nothing, however, has been discussed with respect to that particular bit of potential care of tax dollars.

And no little amount of questioning has gone on in the press corps over revelations that the office of the auditor general itself has chosen to spend over $23,000 on entertainment for its auditors, explaining it to be an aid to cohesion among the auditors. Those team-building events took place at the Britannia Yacht Club, at a curling rink at an adventure park, and other locales.

The auditors, like the Senators, evidently are paid insufficiently to allow them to pay for their own entertainment.

"We feel that's important in order to make sure our employees are engaged, that they're proud to work in the office of the auditor general, and that helps us with retention", explained Mr. Ferguson. "It's cheaper to retain your employees than to have to hire new ones. So we think there's a business reason. We're very conscious of the cost."

What!?! They're not impressed by their well-earned salaries far in excess of what most ordinary people could envision? Well, then!