Members of Parliament, showing a distinct lack of enthusiasm, say they will consider Auditor-General Sheila Fraser's suggestion that her team of auditors be invited to review Parliament's books.
"We are discussing it," said Liberal MP Marcel Proulx, a spokesman for the Board of Internal Economy, the management body for Parliament Hill. "We haven't made a decision on it."
Until now, most MPs have insisted their spending is already reviewed and transparent, and deflected calls for a further audit. But after releasing a report on other matters on Tuesday, Ms. Fraser said Parliament would benefit from the deeper kind of review in which her office specializes.
"The combined Houses of Parliament spend some $500-million a year. We think it is important for accountability purposes that there be an audit done," Ms. Fraser said. "The work that we do is very different."
In Ottawa, the overall budgets of MPs' offices - such as total amounts spent on printing or furniture - are released, but the public does not have access to individual receipts.
The release of such information triggered a major scandal last year in the United Kingdom, where it was revealed that one MP tapped taxpayers to clean his moat. Earlier this year, a spending scandal engulfed provincial politicians in Nova Scotia.
There, individual expenses revealed that one MP expensed five digital cameras and an Xbox 360 Dance Dance Revolution Universe game.
Bill Curry