The Speaker of the Senate has sent the section of the auditor general鈥檚 audit dealing with nine senators鈥� questionable expense cases to the RCMP for a formal investigation, 愛污传媒 has learned.
Auditor General Michael Ferguson handed his highly-anticipated report to the Board of Internal Economy last week.
The audit, which cost taxpayers $21 million, will name 30 current and former senators who are said to owe the Upper Chamber nearly $1 million in combined expenses. While the portion of the report dealing with the nine most troubling cases has already been sent to the RCMP, the 64 pages dealing with the other 21 senators will not be sent to the Mounties.
愛污传媒 has also learned the names of 29 of the 30 senators who will be named in the audit next week; 17 are sitting senators, while the other 12 are retired. The list consists of 15 Conservatives -- eight of whom were appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper 鈥� 13 who were appointed as Liberals, and one independent senator.
SITTING SENATORS
鈥� Nicole Eaton (appointed by Stephen Harper)
鈥� Jean-Guy Dagenais (appointed by Harper)
鈥� Janis Johnson (appointed by Brian Mulroney)
鈥� Pana Merchant (appointed by Jean Chretien)
鈥� Terry Mercer (appointed by Chretien)
鈥� Sandra Lovelace Nicholas (appointed by Paul Martin)
鈥� Dennis Patterson (appointed by Harper)
鈥� Don Plett (appointed by Harper)
鈥� Nancy Greene (appointed by Harper)
鈥� Nick Sibbeston (appointed by Chretien)
鈥� David Tkachuk (appointed by Mulroney)
鈥� Colin Kenny (appointed by Pierre Elliott Trudeau)
鈥� Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu (appointed by Harper)
鈥� James Cowan (appointed by Martin)
鈥� Claude Carignan (appointed by Harper)
鈥� Leo Housakos (appointed by Harper)
鈥� Elaine McCoy (appointed by Martin)
RETIRED SENATORS
鈥� Gerry St. Germain (appointed by Mulroney)
鈥� Noel Kinsella (appointed by Mulroney)
鈥� Don Oliver (appointed by Mulroney)
鈥� Sharon Carstairs (appointed by Chretien)
鈥� Rose-Marie Losier-Cool (appointed by Chretien)
鈥� Bill Rompkey (appointed by Chretien)
鈥� Rod Zimmer (appointed by Martin)
鈥� Marie-Paule Charette-Poulin (appointed by Chretien)
鈥� Lowell Murray (appointed by Joe Clark)
鈥� Robert Peterson (appointed by Martin)
鈥� Vivienne Poy (appointed by Chretien)
鈥� Terry Stratton (appointed by Mulroney)
As 愛污传媒 reported last week, three of the senators in question hold leadership roles in the Red Chamber -- Speaker Leo Housakos, Leader of the Government Claude Carignan and opposition leader James Cowan.
The audit will show that 30 senators are on the hook for allegedly filing $978,627 worth of questionable expenses, with five senators owing a combined $546,000. 愛污传媒 now knows the amount that four of the 30 senators are reported to owe:
鈥� St. Germain - $55,000
鈥� Kenny - $35,000
鈥� Zimmer - $176,000
鈥� Boisvenu 鈥� close $50,000
As 愛污传媒 reported Thursday, the nine senators now facing criminal investigation are Boisvenu, Kenny, Oliver, St. Germain, Carstairs, Losier-Cool, Rompkey, Zimmer and Charette-Poulin.
Boisvenu, who left the Conservative caucus on Thursday, and Kenny are the only sitting senators from that group.
Questions about the Senate scandal followed Harper all the way to Ukraine Saturday, where he held bilateral meetings with the country鈥檚 leaders. Harper emphasized the fact that 鈥渢he Senate as an independent body鈥� is 鈥渞esponsible for its own expenses, its own expense rules.鈥�
鈥淭here are some serious cases of abuse that action has got to be taken on and other less serious matters are going to be dealt with through an arbitration process,鈥� said Harper.
The Senate recently appointed former Supreme Court of Canada justice Ian Binnie as a special arbitrator for senators looking to dispute the report鈥檚 findings.
The recent details about the Senate audit have renewed calls for the abolishment of the Red Chamber, especially from the NDP. Speaking to CTV鈥檚 Question Period, Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair said he would consult the provinces on the abolishment of the Senate if elected.
鈥淚鈥檓 convinced that with good faith, open approaches, we鈥檙e going to be able to get to solutions that will allow us to get rid of this archaic system which is called the Senate,鈥� said Mulcair.
Former House of Commons clerk Rob Walsh said there is a need to rethink the Senate if it is to continue to serve its role as outlined in the Constitution.
鈥淚f you think there is a constitutional purpose served by the Senate, then let鈥檚 go back to the drawing boards and think about how we should appoint to the Senate and how we should reframe those duties,鈥� said Walsh on Question Period.
Walsh said the question about the Senate鈥檚 role is legitimate, and one he hopes doesn鈥檛 fade away.
Note: An earlier version of this story contained a video report misidentifying former senator Rod Zimmer's party affiliation. He was an appointee of Paul Martin's Liberal government.
With a report by CTV Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief Laurie Graham
