Senator Mike Duffy says he's repaid $90K in housing cash

Describing himself as a man of his word, embattled Conservative Senator Mike Duffy says he has repaid more than $90,000 in Senate housing expenses.

Duffy issued a statement late Friday saying the expenses were repaid in March.

Shortly afterward, a terse statement from the Senate Committee on Internal Economy confirmed Duffy had reimbursed some $90,172.24 in living allowance expenses, although it didn't make clear when the payment was made.

Confusion reigned for much of the day after Duffy — who pledged in February to repay the funds — hinted in a Global TV report that he would only do so if a Senate audit committee required it.

Duffy is a long-time Ottawa resident with a full-time home in the capital, making him ineligible for a subsidy paid to senators whose jobs required them to maintain a secondary residence.

Under the Constitution, senators must reside in the provinces they are appointed to represent. Duffy represents P.E.I., where he claims a cottage as his primary residence, although neighbours and provincial records suggest he spends little time there.

"I have always said that I am a man of my word," Duffy, a former broadcaster, said in Friday's statement.

"In keeping with the commitment I made to Canadians, I can confirm that I repaid these expenses in March 2013."

The statement from the Senate was even more economical.

"Senator Duffy has reimbursed the Receiver General $90,172.24 for living allowance expenses," it said. "There will be no further comment."

Duffy promised to repay funds in February

Duffy issued a statement in February, in the midst of a Senate expense scandal, that said he would repay the funds.

"Rather than let this issue drag on, my wife and I have decided that the allowance associated with my house in Ottawa will be repaid," Duffy said in the February statement.

He also asked to go on CBC Television in Prince Edward Island to discuss the issue, which he said had become a "major distraction."

"My wife and I discussed it and we decided that in order to turn the page, to put all this behind us, we are going to voluntarily pay back my living expensives related to the house we have in Ottawa," he told CBC News Compass anchor Bruce Rainnie.

When asked if he meant the approximately $42,000 he has received over two years, Duffy said, "Whatever it is — the accountants... ."

"And until the rules are clear — and they are not clear now, the forms are not clear, and I hope the Senate will re-do the forms to make them clear — I will not claim a housing allowance," Duffy said in Feb. 22 interview.

In the Global interview, Duffy said he'd not yet repaid the money, and was waiting for the results of the Senate's own expenses audit before doing so.

"If I was wrong and made a mistake, I'll repay it," he said.

"And if I wasn't wrong, I assume that will be reported as well."

In January, the Senate's internal economy committee asked senators who were claiming the secondary residence allowance to prove their primary home was not within 100 kilometres of the capital, as the rules require.

Duffy requested an expedited P.E.I. health card, but he was turned down by the provincial government. Provincial tax records show Duffy and his wife are identified as non-resident owners of their island cottage.

Even Peter Van Loan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's parliamentary House leader, seemed to have trouble keeping the facts straight Friday.

Under questioning from NDP MP Charlie Angus, Van Loan seemed to deny that Duffy had ever undertaken to repay the money.

"I do not believe he made those comments," Van Loan said.

"We will wait for the findings of the (auditor's) report, of course, but our government has been clear. We have committed to ensuring that all expenses are appropriate at the Senate, that the rules governing expenses are appropriate and that the Senate does follow through on that."

A spokesman in Van Loan's office later said the minister was not disputing Duffy's promise to repay the money, but rather the comments to Global that he had not yet done so.

Under the Constitution, senators must reside in the provinces they are appointed to represent. Duffy represents P.E.I., where he claims a cottage as his primary residence, although neighbours and provincial records suggest he spends little time there.