Senator Pamela Wallin Calls Audit Flawed and Unfair

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• published: 14 Aug 2013
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Senator Pamela Wallin described the Deloitte audit of her expenses as How Pamela Wallin claimed over $100,000 in questionable travel expenses Senator Pamela Wallin is being asked to repay $121,348 after an independent audit found a series of problems with the former broadcaster's expense claims -- including billing taxpayers for partisan fundraisers. The release of the audit Tuesday gave new life to the ongoing Senate expenses scandal, including questions about claims made by Ms. Wallin as well as Patrick Brazeau, Mike Duffy and Mac Harb. The four have been asked to repay a combined total of roughly $490,000. Ms. Wallin's case is different than the others, in that it focuses squarely on travel. The audit found Ms. Wallin racked up costs by attending a series of events, and regularly stopping in Toronto while flying between Ottawa, the capital, and Saskatchewan, her home province. It also found she had retroactively altered some of her schedule records as the review was continuing, something she said was done for clarity and to protect privacy. Ms. Wallin has already repaid $38,369.29 and has pledged to repay whatever she owes, but called the audit process "flawed and unfair." Side jobs The audit found that Ms. Wallin claimed $90,323 in travel for "non-Senate business," citing 79 examples. They include at least six partisan activities, such as appearing on a political panel debate during the 2011 election and attending a "Here for Canada PM Rally" during the same campaign, according to the audit. That trip, from April 13 to 23, cost a total of $5,419.68, though auditors are only recommending she be asked to repay $466.16 of that. It's not clear why. Elections Canada records also show Ms. Wallin headlined a partisan fundraiser for Saskatchewan MP Ray Boughen in Moose Jaw during that trip, though the audit doesn't mention that event. Other partisan activities include a $100-a-plate fundraiser during April, 2009, in Saskatoon for four local Conservative riding groups, according to the audit. "This does not appear to be Senate business, as it was a fundraising event," the auditors said. Ms. Wallin also billed taxpayers for an event honouring former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, which the audit said "appears to be a partisan event." The auditors found another partisan event that required "interpretation" under Senate rules -- a $119 claim from January, 2011, for a speaking event by Conservative MP Kellie Leitch, who has since been promoted to cabinet, as well as an event titled "Fairchild TV -- PMO," an apparent reference to a Chinese-Canadian television station and the Prime Minister's Office. The broadcaster aired an interview with Ms. Wallin shortly after, but it's unclear what the PMO's involvement was. Ms. Wallin also appears to have attended events for former MP Bev Oda and Saskatchewan MP Garry Breitkreuz, according to a letter send by her lawyer to the auditors. In her time as a senator, Ms. Wallin has served on several corporate boards, including Porter Airlines and Calgary-based Oilsands Quest Inc. The latter paid her at least $600,000, according to to its financial filings, and the audit found that some trips to Calgary were paid for by a "third party." On five occasions, however, she claimed Senate reimbursement for what auditors deemed "personal" travel or "private business" in Calgary. The costs were billed as Senate business, and Ms. Wallin has since repaid two of the claims, totalling $7,356.40, saying they were made in error. The auditors also flagged $1,402.59 in expenses for two Porter events, including one 2010 event Ms. Wallin billed as Senate business for a luncheon that the auditors said "appears to be of a personal interest given her role at the time on the board of an airline company." She also served as chancellor for the University of Guelph, an unpaid position. The auditors allege she should repay $2,728.35 for a trip billed to her Senate account that appears to have only included a Guelph convocation. She also billed $511.14 to fly to Toronto, where she caught a flight to Punta Cana for a private conference. The auditors found that didn't count as "Senate business."