Senate committee seeks $16,995 in ‘ineligible expenses’ from Mike Duffy

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Mike Duffy's return to Senate life since his acquittal on 31 criminal charges this spring has been quiet: He sat in on the occasional committee, spoke once or twice from his seat at the back of the chamber and hung a welcome sign outside his office door.

But while things were getting back to normal for the beleaguered senator, who remains tight-lipped in public, the Senate's chief financial officer was reviewing Mr. Duffy's records owing to "new information" released at his trial, including Ontario Court Justice Charles Vaillancourt's 308-page ruling.

And in doing so, Pascale Legault claims she found seven "ineligible expenses" for Senate contracts and travel totalling $16,955, according to a letter sent to Mr. Duffy from Nicole Proulx, clerk of the Senate's standing committee on internal economy, budgets and administration. "The conclusion was that if the information had been disclosed or known prior to processing contract or payment, the requests would have been considered non-compliant with the applicable Senate Administrative Rules and policies," writes Ms. Proulx, who also served as a Crown witness during the trial.

The Conservative-dominated internal economy committee gave Mr. Duffy 10 days to defend himself – which he did, through a 15-page letter from his lawyer, Donald Bayne.

Mr. Bayne is adamant his client doesn't owe a penny, arguing the senator lost out on almost $156,000 in salary – and $265,000 in total – when he was suspended from the Red Chamber in November, 2013, for almost two years.

"The Senate now seeks to compound that unjust and oppressive penalty already paid in full by Senator Duffy," Mr. Bayne writes.

Mr. Duffy's allegedly ineligible expenses include ones already discussed at length at his trial: $10,000 for a personal trainer, whom Mr. Duffy billed as a fitness consultant, as well as $300 in makeup services for an appearance with then-prime minister Stephen Harper, and an $8 photo charge – the latter which Mr. Bayne says "smacks of petty vindictiveness."

Mr. Bayne says his client's acquittal on all charges justifies the expenses in question.

Senate officials will now review Mr. Bayne's comments and decide whether to pursue reimbursement from Mr. Duffy. If he does not wish to repay, he can submit to a dispute-resolution process, overseen by retired Supreme Court justice Ian Binnie.