OTTAWA – Senators who went through an arbitration process after their expenses were red-flagged by the auditor general are about to find out whether they’ve been exonerated or must pay back money for questionable spending.
An independent arbitrator’s report into the expenses is set to be released today after being reviewed by a Senate committee that oversees the upper chamber’s finances.
The arbitration process was established after the auditor general raised questions about spending claims from 30 current and former senators totalling nearly $1 million.
The report will detail the conclusions of former Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie, who was appointed as arbitrator last May to oversee disputes of the auditor’s findings.
Of the 30 senators identified in the audit and ordered to repay the questioned amounts, 14 chose to go through the arbitration process led by Binnie while seven opted out of it and the remaining nine paid back money, according to the Senate website.
Senators found to have spent inappropriately will have 30 days to reimburse the amounts owed.