Pamela Wallin to owe more than $121,000: Senate

OTTAWA – Global News has learned Senator Pamela Wallin will have to repay even more than $121,000 after a committee comprised of her colleagues has found some of her “networking events” were not legitimate expense claims.

Sources say the Senate internal economy committee has determined Wallin must repay some of the nearly $21,000 in extra claims for events such as networking and speeches that were deemed “subject to interpretation” in a Deloitte audit released Tuesday.

The audit found Wallin claimed $121,348 in inappropriate travel expenses over the course of more than three and a half years. The Senate has ordered her to repay the full amount with interest within 30 days, and the audit has been referred to the RCMP.

Wallin, who said she will pay the costs out of pocket, has already repaid $38,369 and as of yesterday owed another $82,979.

That number will now be higher.

Wallin’s lawyer said in an email Wednesday she is unavailable for comment and “to date we have received no such information.”

It is not known which of the $20,978 in networking claims were invalid. Senate finance officials are now processing the claims and have not yet come up with a final tally.

A representative from Conservative committee chair Senator Gerald Comeau’s office said the process will take a couple of weeks.

According to Deloitte, an example of some networking events attended or scheduled by Wallin between April 2009 and August 2011 include:

– dinner that included representatives from Chatelaine and the New York City Ballet, where a “wide range discussion on political issues” took place;

– dinner with a journalist regarding a feature piece on Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall;

– reception at the home of a representative from the National Arts Centre, where a “range of issues” were discussed including the future of arts in Canada and arts funding;

– meeting with a representative from the Richard Ivey School of Business to discuss government tech and innovation policies

– meeting with a U.S. diplomat regarding Canada/U.S. relations.

In total, 31 claims were subject to interpretation, including business meetings with a marketing company regarding Canada-China relations and with an executive from Canada Post.

“The Steering committee determine that, while occasional, exceptional occurrences for special events might be acceptable, the volume and pattern of the events listed would not qualify them as Senate business,” the audit says.

In a public statement Monday, Wallin called the audit flawed and fundamentally unfair, but said she would repay whatever money she owed with interest.

She said she saw travel as part of her job as a senator.

“When appointed to the Senate in 2009, I was determined to be an activist Senator, one who saw it as her job to advance causes that are important to Canadians,” she said.

“When invited to appear publicly and speak on subjects including the role of women in public life, Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, and support for our troops, I saw it as my duty to accept whenever able to do so. Travel to these public speeches and appearances was, and is, in my continuing view, a legitimate Senate expense.”

What’s considered legitimate Senate business

But Sen. James Cowan, Liberal leader in the Senate, says he’s never had difficulty figuring out what he should charge to taxpayers.

“I don’t think for most of us it’s a problem,” he said in a press conference Wednesday.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had any difficulty determining when I’ve incurred a particular expense, whether I pay for it out of my own pocket or I charge it to the Senate. (Wallin) seems to have had that difficulty.”

According to Senate policies and rules, members of the upper chamber can request reimbursement for travel expenses if the travel was incurred as a consequence of “Parliamentary” or “Senate business,” but there is no strict delineation between what constitutes “personal” and “Senate” business.

According to the most recent quarterly reports published on the Senate website, eight senators aside from Wallin have claimed more than $10,000 for “other travel,” which implies Senate business.

The reports cover the period between March 1 and May 31.

The eight senators include Conservatives Thanh Hai Ngo ($19,938), Asha Seth ($13,057) and Dennis Patterson ($13,268); Liberals Colin Kenney ($18,251), Sandra Lovelace Nicholas ($21,393), Jim Munson ($12,205) and Nick Sibbeston ($32,563); and independent Anne Cools ($16,928).

Of those, only the offices of Munson, Sibbeston, Patterson and Lovelace Nicholas replied to questions asking what activities and appearances they charged to the Senate, and why they considered those justifiable expense claims.

As one of only a small handful of aboriginal senators, Lovelace Nicholas is often called on to speak to aboriginal communities, her office told Global News. When the senator travels to remote areas of the country, often criss-crossing the land for conferences and to meet with aboriginal chiefs and native women, the costs add up, her executive assistant explained.

Patterson, who represents Nunavut, also has to take long flights to meet and keep in touch with members of his community.

“Deciding what is and what is not Senate business is a matter of good judgement,” he wrote in an email.  “But to me it is simply acting as a public representative and being open to input from everywhere in Nunavut, especially with respect to federal policy and programs.”

Sibbeston said it takes two days to travel between his primary residence in Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, to Ottawa, and often schedules meetings in Yellowknife.

He justified the claims saying he meets with aboriginal leaders, and recently attended an Arctic conference in Norway with his wife, allowed under Senate rules.

Munson said he interprets Senate business as fighting for minorities and their rights.

“In that regard I work with autistic groups and Special Olympics all across the country,” he wrote in an email.

As a result of that advocacy, Munson said he has been able to introduce a bill which last year became law recognizing World Autism Day and also produced a report in the Senate on autism families in crisis.

Ngo has said he meets with Vietnamese communities across Canada.

Still, the fact that Wallin claimed networking events points to a larger issue in the upper chamber, the Opposition says.

“It’s the whole problem with the Senate itself – they seem to be unaccountable for everything they do,” said NDP MP Paul Dewar.

“That’s why we really believe it’s time to abolish.”

(This article has been edited for clarity. There are 31 claims subject to interpretation by the Senate committee , not 51, and not all of Wallin’s networking events are included. The examples cited in this story show the types of events she was attending but not only ones she could be asked to repay.)