OTTAWA – Federal auditors are starting to sit down with senators to comb over their expenses as part of the ongoing audit of the upper chamber.
Senator Larry Campbell, appointed as a Liberal, is scheduled to meet next week with officials from Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s office for the second time since the audit began last fall.
“He’s been auditing my office and now I will sit down with him and go over where they’re at,” Campbell, who represents British Columbia, said in an interview.
Campbell said he had an initial meeting with auditors a few months ago.
“The initial meeting was more with regards to the process, how it would be handled, what they would be doing, what would be expected of us, what should be expected of them,” he said.
“This will probably be more dealing with issues that they’ve found as they’ve gone through the audit.”
A frequently asked questions sheet posted to the auditor general’s website last week says the audit will include examining documents, and conducting interviews and analysis.
“All Senators were provided with a copy of the audit plan summary,” it says.
A spokesman said the auditor general is not commenting on the specifics of the Senate audit but interviews are standard practice. The results of the audit are expected to be released in late 2014 or early 2015.
Senator James Cowan, who leads the Senate Liberal caucus after it was axed from Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s national caucus in January, said he has not met with the auditors yet.
“They haven’t approached me. I expect they will shortly and I will be meeting with them,” he said.
“I know that there are some senators who have met with the auditors, some of them more than once. But I don’t know more than that.”
Cowan said he will fully cooperate with the process.
“I’ve never been audited before, so I don’t really know what to expect, but I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said.
While some senators have refused to sign a letter promising full cooperation in the audit process, Cowan said it is not something that has been discussed as a caucus and he has not been asked to pressure any senators to cooperate.
A spokesman for Conservative Senator Claude Carignan said the leader of the government in the Senate is not available for interviews this week.
Campbell – who worked as an RCMP officer, provincial coroner and Vancouver mayor before being appointed to the Senate by Paul Martin in 2005 – said he has been through many audits in his public life.
“I have no concerns, and I really have no questions,” he said. “Anything that they find that, that can help me do a better job and be more accountable, I’m all over it.”
He said some of his colleagues may be nervous in light of investigations into the expenses of Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin and the recent charges laid against Patrick Brazeau and Mac Harb.
“Perhaps at the end of the day the courts will make the decision there was nothing there,” he said.
“I don’t know. But certainly I don’t see any criminal charges in my future.”
Comments