OTTAWA — Plans to recover tens of thousands of dollars from Senator Patrick Brazeau could be in jeopardy if he is suspended from the upper chamber without pay—a move that could come as early as this week.
Brazeau was notified in July that 20 per cent of his pay would be garnished until he repaid $48,745, including interest, in housing and living expenses the Senate determined he had claimed inappropriately.
A senator’s base salary is $135,200. Not taking payroll deductions into account, a 20 per cent clawback would come to $2,253 per month if the senator is paid twice every month.
At that rate, it would take close to two years to repay the full amount. Given the decision to garnish Brazeau’s wages came only four months ago, the Senate will not have had the time to collect the vast majority of what it said he owes if he soon stops earning his salary.
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With Brazeau’s debt now hanging in the balance, there doesn’t appear to be a clear plan for recovering the amount the embattled senator still owes.
When asked how Government leader in the Senate Claude Carignan plans to ensure the debt is repaid should his motion pass, a spokesman with his office declared the question “hypothetical” and refused to answer it.
While speaking with journalists recently, however, Carignan said the matter was “administrative.”
At the time, the Conservative leader in the Senate said he wasn’t certain whether Brazeau had finished repaying. If he hadn’t, Carignan speculated, “I suppose (the garnishing) will restart at the end of the suspension.”
A spokeswoman for the Senate confirmed to Global News that Brazeau still owes money, but said information about the amount was “not publicly available.”
A spokeswoman in Brazeau’s office said he had no comment on the issue.
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Brazeau (along with fellow independents Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin) is at risk of being suspended without pay, benefits and Senate resources for the remainder of the parliamentary session, which could last up to two years.
Carignan announced last week his intention to introduce motions to boot the three out on account of their “gross negligence in the management of parliamentary resources.”
Together, the trio of senators—all former Conservatives—racked up hundreds of thousands in housing, living and travel expense claims the Senate deemed improper.
Wallin repaid more than $150,000 using personal cheques, while Duffy controversially paid his tab with a cheque from Nigel Wright, who was Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff at the time.
A fourth senator found to have inappropriately claimed expenses, former Liberal Mac Harb, resigned in August.
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