Former Sudbury senator Charette-Poulin has more than 130K in questionable expense claims
CBC News | Posted: June 9, 2015 7:16 PM | Last Updated: June 9, 2015
In a report released today, it was shown that former Sudbury senator Marie-Paule Charette-Poulin was one of the three cases with the highest sum of questionable claims, which were among the nine referred to the RCMP.
The audit found that Charette-Poulin had "conflicting or insufficient information" for more than $130,000 in claims, questioning whether some of her travel expenses were for her work as counsel for a law firm, to visit family members or to support her husband's business activities. The audit details that she has repaid $5,606 of those questionable expenses.
The three cases with the highest sum of questionable claims are:
$176,014: Liberal-appointed Rod Zimmer (Man.), who resigned in 2013 over health concerns.
$131,434: Liberal-appointed Marie-Paule Charette-Poulin (Ont.), who resigned in April over health concerns.
$110,051: Liberal-appointed Rose-Marie Losier-Cool (N.B.), who retired in 2012.
The others being investigated by the RCMP include sitting senators Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu (Que.) and Colin Kenny (Ont.) and former senators Gerry St. Germain (B.C.), Donald Oliver (N.S.), William Rompkey (N.L.) and Sharon Carstairs (Man.).
The following is a statement by email from the Honourable Marie-P. Charette-Poulin.
"I believe strongly in public service and the responsible administration of public funds. Throughout the Senate process, I fully cooperated with the Auditor General by providing extensive documentation and evidence about my office expenditures. I will give due consideration to the arbitration process with the Honourable Ian Binnie, as further details become available. I have managed my Senate budget and expenses in an ethical and professional manner and will vigorously oppose any attempt to refer my case to the RCMP. Due to serious health issues, I have followed my physician's advice to focus on my health and retire from the Senate and other professional activities. As this matter enters a new phase, I will not be making any further public comments."