Raymond Lavigne has quit the Senate, putting an end to efforts by the Upper Chamber to suspend his $132,000 annual salary following recent convictions on charges of fraud and breach of trust.
The surprise resignation allows the 65-year-old Mr. Lavigne to start collecting his pension – worth 27 per cent of his salary – after nine years of service in the Senate, or more than $35,000 a year. In addition, Mr. Lavigne will collect a pension for his nine years in the House of Commons as a Liberal MP from 1993 to 2002, bringing his total remuneration to around $80,000 a year, according to an estimate by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
CTF spokesman Derek Fildebrandt said MPs and senators who are convicted on charges related directly to their public office should no longer receive the taxpayer-funded portion of their pensions.
“It’s a completely outrageous pension plan to begin with, and that situation is highlighted when you have a corrupt senator who will receive a nice fat pension for the rest of his life,” Mr. Fildebrandt said.
Mr. Justice Robert Smith of the Ontario Superior Court ruled earlier this month that Mr. Lavigne was guilty of fraud and breach of trust in relation to the use of his parliamentary resources.
Judge Smith invoked “basic common sense” as he ruled that Mr. Lavigne had to be aware that he falsely claimed $10,120.50 in mileage for car trips made by two of his staffers. Regarding the fact that Mr. Lavigne sent a Senate staffer to work on his land, Judge Smith said that Mr. Lavigne used parliamentary resources “for a purpose other than the public good.”
Mr. Lavigne faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in relation to his conviction, with sentencing arguments scheduled for May. He was suspended from legislative duties in the Senate after he was charged by the RCMP, but continued to receive his salary and to have access to his travel budget.
Senate officials from both the Conservative and the Liberal parties avoided commenting on the matter on Monday, seemingly happy that the public-relations nightmare for the Senate is nearing its end.
“We’re letting things lie,” said a Conservative official.
Speaking in the foyer of the House of Commons, Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc said that resigning was the right thing to do.
“When Mr. Lavigne was found guilty of a criminal offence, I thought it appropriate for him to resign and I’m glad that decision has been made,” Mr. LeBlanc said.
