Rule-breakers deserve punishment: ex-senators

OTTAWA — The rules get abused. The rules could be clearer. Those who break the rules must be punished.

Several recently retired and former members of the Senate say while they doubt rule-breaking is systematic in the upper chamber, it does occasionally happen and will likely continue.

“I saw abuse of the rules, but I’ve seen abuse of the rules everywhere. Whether it’s in a law society or in the House of Commons or whether it’s any other organization I might have belonged to,” said former Conservative senator Michael Meighen, who resigned last year.

“But whatever one thinks of the Senate in terms of it as an institution, I saw no evidence that there was a den of thieves. Far from it.”

Monday, the Senate’s Conservative and Liberal leaders asked the internal economy committee to interview any senator claiming a housing allowance. The move comes after weeks of reports a handful of senators are being investigated for claiming that their main residences are outside Ottawa when they may not even be considered residents of the provinces they represent.

Anybody who breaks the rules should certainly be punished in some way, said retired Liberal senator Tommy Banks, but interviewing every senator who claims the housing allowance is “a little bit of overkill.”

Former Conservative senator Consiglio Di Nino, who resigned in 2012, said the Senate has reacted swiftly and properly to the current questions, and anyone found to have done something wrong should “suffer the consequences.”

But he suggested it’s unrealistic to expect immaculate conduct from every member.

“You’re always going to have some members of society that will not follow all of the rules.