Senate snapshots

PM’s former chief of staff believed in paying own expenses,

Anumber of fascinating items were revealed in RCMP court documents filed this week on the Senate scandal, such as the work expenses Nigel Wright never claimed during his time in the Prime Minister’s Office, or the government’s alleged interference in the audit of Sen. Mike Duffy’s expenses. Here are a few interesting tidbits based on the documents, and few other Senate developments.

AS CHIEF OF STAFF, NIGEL WRIGHT HARDLY EVER CLAIMED EXPENSES.

Wright left his post in May 2013 (he either resigned or, as Harper has said, was “dismissed”) after admitting he wrote a personal cheque of more than $90,000 to cover Duffy’s ineligible Senate expense claims.

A successful Bay Street dealmaker before working in the PMO, Wright is by many accounts a multimillionaire. He stroked the $90,000 cheque to Mike Duffy with apparently no expectation of repayment.

The documents tabled this week by RCMP Cpl. Greg Horton shed some fascinating light on Wright’s personal finances.

“Mr. Wright explained that he is financially comfortable, having been successful in the private sector prior to agreeing to work within the PMO. Since taking on the position within the PMO he has not filed expense claims for anything, including meals, flights, hotels or legal fees,” Horton says in the documents, based on his interview with Wright.

“He estimates he (is) out of pocket tens of thousands of dollars, but it is his global view and contribution to public policy that taxpayers not bear the cost of his position if he can legitimately afford to fund it himself.”

EVEN AUDITORS DONATE TO POLITICAL PARTIES.

A search of Elections Canada records shows that a Michael Runia — the same name as the partner at Deloitte who, according to court documents, was contacted by Sen. Irving Gerstein — appears to be a maximum contributor to the Conservative Party of Canada.

Records show that a Michael S. Runia of Ottawa has donated more than $6,000 to since 2007, including the maximum of $1,200 in 2012 and $1,100 in 2011. Elections Canada information on registered political parties lists Deloitte, c/o Michael S. Runia in Ottawa, as the auditor for the Conservative Party of Canada. Runia could not be reached Friday.

TUNE IN TO THE SENATE — LIVE.

Following months of intense scrutiny and attention because of the expenses scandal in the upper chamber, the Senate announced this week that audio proceedings in the red chamber will now be made publicly available.

Starting Nov. 26, audio proceedings in the Senate chamber will be available on ParlVU (senparlvu.parl.gc.ca), the Senate’s webcasting service. Users will now be able to access live and archived streams of Senate chamber proceedings, along with audio of committee meetings that was previously available.

“In the interest of openness and transparency which I think are important attributes for a public institution, my colleagues and I have authorized the Clerk to make the audio broadcast of Senate proceedings publicly available. This is long overdue,” Sen. Gerald Comeau, chairman of the Senate internal economy committee, said in a statement.