The Canadian Senate has threatened to take legal action against two senators who were ordered to return tens of thousands of dollars in living expenses.
Senators Patrick Brazeau and Mac Harb have both been instructed to repay money they had claimed to help cover the cost of living in Ottawa while working for the Senate. Senator Brazeau has been informed by letter that 20 per cent of his pay will be docked until he has repaid $48,000 in housing and travel expenses he claimed inappropriately. Senator Harb has close to $232,000 to return.
Brazeau, at 38 the youngest sitting senator, has the right to remain in his Senate seat until he’s 75. However, a criminal conviction could cause him to be expelled from the chamber. He is currently facing charges for domestic and sexual assault in a case that is before the courts. Due to the criminal charge, Brazeau was thrown out of the Conservative caucus and suspended from the Senate. But as an Independent senator, he still receives his salary.
Harb is already fighting the Senate’s repayment order in court and has filed an application for judicial review with the Ontario Superior Court earlier this month, asking it to quash the decision that found he should not have claimed expenses for his Ottawa residence. Senator Harb has argued that the rules of residency are not clear, and that as a senator appointed to represent Ontario he did nothing wrong as long as he lived in the province.
