Police probe of N.S. MLA spending widens

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s auditor general has referred another case of suspected misspending by a former provincial politician to the RCMP.

That brings to six the number of people who are being probed in relation to their expense accounts. To date, five former MLAs and one current MLA are under investigation after an audit revealed questionable spending.

Among Auditor General Jacques Lapointe’s findings were the purchase of patio furniture, big-screen TVs, a $700 espresso machine and an electric generator.

Neither Lapointe nor the RCMP have named the people involved or provided any details about possible wrongdoing.

All three parties in the Nova Scotia legislature have been engulfed in a spending scandal since February, when Lapointe first raised questions about excessive constituency allowance spending between 2006 and 2009.