Senators’ housing claims to be audited
The Senate will conduct an internal audit to determine if its members are actually living in the locations they claim for expenses purposes.
The Ottawa Citizen reported this week that Conservative Senator Mike Duffy and Liberal Senator Mac Harb, both longtime Ottawa residents, have each billed more than $30,000 for maintaining “secondary” homes in the city.
Senate rules allow senators to claim up to $21,000 annually in accommodation and food expenses while in the National Capital Region — away from their declared primary residences in their home provinces.
The Senate’s committee on internal economy, which sets rules for senators’ spending, announced Thursday that it has asked the Senate administration to “conduct an audit to assess whether all senators’ declarations of primary and secondary residence are supported by sufficient documentation.”
The audit will be performed by the Senate’s audit branch. It is expected to assess whether tax records, drivers’ licenses or other documentation support senators’ claims to live in their primary residences.
Every senator is required to produce a sworn statement attesting to residency and ownership of $4,000 of land in his or her home provinces. False information on this form would be considered perjury and could jeopardize membership in the Senate.
A subcommittee of the internal economy committee is already looking into a CTV News report about the secondary residence in nearby Gatineau, Que., claimed by Conservative Patrick Brazeau, who lists his primary home in his father’s apartment in Maniwaki, Que.
That subcommittee has also been directed to review allegations raised about Harb, according to a news release issued by the Senate. There is no reference to any review of Duffy’s living arrangements.
Conservative Senator David Tkachuk, who chairs the committee, said the bipartisan subcommittee will look into allegations in an Ottawa Citizen report on Harb’s expense claims. He said the story raised similar issues to the CTV story on Brazeau.
Tkachuk said Harb’s situation differs from Duffy’s.
“They’re separate issues,” he said.
Both Harb and Duffy say their expenses claims for secondary residences fall entirely within the Senate’s rules.
Tkachuk told the Ottawa Citizen earlier this week that Duffy had done nothing wrong and said there was no reason for him not to claim the National Capital Region expenses.
Duffy, a senator for Prince Edward Island, has lived in the Ottawa area most of his life and has owned his current home in Kanata since 2003. He also owns a home in his province, as required by the constitution. He has claimed $33,000 in National Capital Region expenses since September 2010.
Duffy spent most of his broadcasting career reporting on Parliament Hill from Ottawa. He is registered to vote in the Kanata-area riding of Carleton-Mississippi Mills.
Harb owns several properties around Ottawa, including a condominium unit near Hog’s Back that he listed as his address on recent real estate documents. He counts as his primary residence a home in the Pembroke, Ont., area, about 90 minutes from the city.
Because his primary residence is listed as more than 100 kilometres from the city, Harb was able to claim more than $31,000 in National Capital living expenses over the same period.
His office won’t say the exact location of his primary home, but property records show Harb owns a $300,000 bungalow near Westmeath, along the Ottawa River.
Harb, an Ontario senator, spent most of his adult life in Ottawa after emigrating from Lebanon in 1973. He served as a city councillor from 1985 to 1988, when he was elected MP for Ottawa Centre.