Auditor general calls for 'transformative change' in Senate

Auditor General Michael Fergusonis calling for "transformative change" in the Senate, including an independent oversight bodyfor expenses,afterflagging more than$975,000 in questionable travel and housingclaims inanexhaustive two-year spending review, CBC News has learned.

The expense files of nine current and former senators are being sent to the RCMP todayahead of Tuesday'srelease of the forensicaudit.

Thedollar figure includes the nine cases being referred to the Mounties, along with those ofanother 21 former and current senators who have also beenflagged to repay ineligible expenses.

Five of the cases alone account for more than$500,000 of ineligiblespending withformer Liberal-appointed senator Rod Zimmer (Man.)the alleged worst offender with questionable claims totaling$176,000.

• Senate expense claims review outlines systemic issues
• 2 sitting senators face RCMP investigation into expenses
• Senate leaders caught up in AG expenses audit

CBC News has learned that $24,000 in ineligible expenses have already been repaid to the Senate, including from two of the ninewhosefiles are being sent to the RCMP.

Retired Conservative senatorGerry St. Germain (B.C.), whose file is being sent to the RCMP, lashed out in a statement on Friday, saying the auditor general's findings are "adverse, baselessand unsubstantiated."

The other filesbeing referred to the RCMPrelate tositting SenatorPierre-Hugues Boisvenu (Que.), who left the Conservative caucus Thursday,and fourothers who have left the Senate: Liberal-appointedSharon Carstairs (Man.),Rose-Marie Losier-Cool (N.B.), William Rompkey (N.L.)andZimmer. Losier-Coolhad the second-highest sum of questionable claims in the audit, CBC News has learned.

Sitting Liberal-appointed SenatorColin Kenny (Ont.), retired Conservative senatorDonald Oliver (N.S.) and LiberalMarie-Paule Charette-Poulin (Ont.), who resigned from the Senate in April due to health reasons, also issued statements Friday vowing to defend their spending records.

Process called 'unjust'

St.Germain, who represented British Columbia in the Senate from 1993 to 2012 and previously served as aProgressive Conservative MP and minister,said in a statement Friday he believed the auditor general came to his findings with incomplete records.

"My efforts now will focus on defending my hard-earned reputation andchallenging a process that has been unfair and unjust,"he said, adding "bias or prejudgment" may have played a role in thefindings

Kenny's office issued a short statement Friday afternoon indicating that he could not comment beyond a 500-word response that is included in the auditor general's report.

"He will continue to work to defend himself and fully expects to be vindicated at the end of the process," it said.

CBC News has learned that Boisvenu plans to defend his contested expense claims, which are related to residence and travel.He issued a statement on Facebook Friday saying that he was shocked by the allegations against him but that he could not elaborate further at this time because he was bound by a confidentiality agreement.

30 eligible for arbitration

Each of the 30 current and former senators named in the reportcan appeal paying back the so-called inappropriate expenses through an independent Senate arbitrator a process that was not available to the former senator and three suspended senators already named in the Senate expense scandal.

• Ex-Supreme Court justice, to arbitrate Senate expense claims
• Senate to use outside arbiter in future expense disputes

Former Supreme Court justice Ian Binnie was named to arbitrate the disputes.

Mike Duffy's lawyer said Friday that it's "absolutely" unfair that his client did not have access to the same arbitration process.

Donald Bayne is representing the suspended Conservative senator during his trial on31 charges offraud, breach of trust and briberyrelated to Senate expenseshe claimed and later repaidwith money from the prime minister's former chief of staff,NigelWright. Duffy has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Thespending habits of suspended Conservative senators Patrick Brazeau and Pamela Wallin, as well asretired Liberal-appointed senator Mac Harb have also previously been investigated by the RCMP.

Trials for Brazeau and Harb have not yet started, while Wallin has not been charged.

SenateOpposition LeaderJames Cowan, who is among the 21 pegged by the auditor generalto repay expenses, said that while the first four may not have been treated fairly, a new, "properprocess" is in place to help ensure that in the future.

"Two wrongs don't make a right," he said. "The fact that we didn't have it in place then, doesn't mean that we shouldn't have it in place now. We should have had a process like this in place then we didn'tnow we do."

Senate Speaker Leo Housakos andgovernment leader Claude Carignan, both Conservative leaders in the Senate, were also among the auditor general's 21.