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.
READ MORE: Mike Duffy’s expenses under scrutiny again
“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