Mike Duffy may be back in the upper house chamber and on the parliamentary payroll, but even after an Ontario court judge acquitted him on all charges stemming from his allegedly inappropriate expense claims, the Senate internal economy committee isn’t quite ready to declare his case closed.
In fact, the committee has advised the now reinstated senator that he may be on the hook for an additional $16,955 based on information that came out throughout the course of the trial, including that now notorious $300 bill for “emergency” makeup services related to an appearance alongside then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as well as $10,000 in “consulting fees” paid to “personal trainer” Mike Croskery.
“On June 21, 2016, Justice Charles Vaillancourt’s ruling discharged you of all criminal charges,” Senate clerk (and erstwhile Crown witness) Nicole Proulx acknowledges in the letter sent to Duffy on the committee’s behalf.
“However, 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.”
After reviewing the records, the Senate chief financial officer concluded that, had this “new information” had been “disclosed or known” when the claims were initially submitted, those requests would have been “considered non-compliant” with the existing rules, and denied.
“Consequently, it is the opinion of the [chief financial officer] that you have claimed $16,955 in ineligible expenses,” the letter states before informing Duffy that, under the review process, he has 10 days “to provide observations or information that could establish the eligibility of the expenses.”
This post-judgement, post penalty attempt to pursue the same expense matters is a further compounding of injustice upon injustice, and should be stopped
On Wednesday, lawyer Donald Bayne filed an 18-page response on his client’s behalf, which lays out in his signature excruciating detail exactly why the Senate is out of line in attempting to force Duffy to repay a cent after his exoneration in court.
“[T]his post-judgement, post penalty attempt to pursue the same expense matters is a further compounding of injustice upon injustice, and should be stopped,” Bayne concludes.
“There has already been more than enough injustice visited upon Senator Duffy.”
Duffy’s office dispatched the full response to reporters on Wednesday night, with an accompanying press release that accuses the committee of “refusing to accept the judgement” and launching a “collateral attack” on the judge himself.
It also notes that Conservative senators currently hold the majority on the internal economy committee.