The Senate is giving Mike Duffy until July 23 to decide if he will pay back nearly $17,000 or seek arbitration.
Even though Duffy has been cleared of all criminal charges related to his expenses, the Senate still considers $16,995 worth as inappropriate spending. The clerk of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy sent the senator a letter on June 8, outlining why they think he owes the Senate money.
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“New information surfaced in the public domain including the judgement as well as additional supporting documentation, which warranted an assessment of the eligibility of some expenses,” Nicole Proulx’s June 8 letter reads.
Those expenses include $10,000 for the services of personal trainer Mike Croskery, $300 for a makeup artist, a $500 payment to one of Duffy’s office volunteers, Ashley Cain, in 2010 and $8 for personal photos.
His lawyer, Donald Bayne, told Global News in late June that the Senator’s nearly two-year suspension from the upper chamber lacked due process and resulted in the former journalist’s net loss of $155,876. According to Bayne, asking to repay $8 for personal photos “smacks of petty vindictiveness.”
If Duffy doesn’t act, the Senate will deduct funds from his pay cheque.
With files from Mike Le Couteur and the Canadian Press
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