The perks of Senate life

From an Ottawa Citizen editorial:

It is entirely within the rules for Liberal Sen. Mac Harb and Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy to claim living allowances in Ottawa, despite being longtime residents of the nation’s capital, as both point out. But should it be?

The public should see their claims of living expenses for what they are: examples of senators taking advantage of perks simply because they can. That might make it legal, but it doesn’t make it right. For taxpayers, many of whom are living on tight budgets and coping with reduced services, watching a senator take advantage of an already generous taxpayer-funded system just because it is within the letter of the law, should rankle.

Both Harb and Duffy claim their Ottawa homes as their secondary residences. Since 2010, Harb has claimed $31,000 and Duffy has claimed $33,413 in living allowances.

Harb, who came to Ottawa from Lebanon in 1973, was elected to Ottawa city council in 1985, before serving as MP for Ottawa-Centre for 15 years beginning in 1988. He was appointed to the Senate in 2003. He lists a home near Pembroke, about a 90-minute drive from Ottawa, as his primary residence.

Duffy represents Prince Edward Island in the Senate. He keeps a residence in that province which he says he bought as a summer cottage 15 years ago and has since spent $100,000 on it to make it a year-round home.

But Duffy has mainly lived in Ottawa since he came to the capital in the 1970s as a journalist.

It is time the Senate looked at clarifying and amending, if necessary, rules around housing allowances.