Senate debate begins on proposed suspension of Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau
Posted October 22, 2013 3:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau are at the heart of the expense scandal and they could be stripped of their office, their duties and their pay.
Debate has begun in the Senate over a government move to suspend three senators over their allegedly improper living and travel expense claims.
Sen. Claude Carignan, government leader in the Senate, has moved that his former Conservative colleagues be suspended without pay.
Senators Wallin, Duffy and Brazeau had guards escort them in as they waded through a crowd of reporters, not addressing the motions they’re here to fight.
A number of Conservative and Liberal senators are resisting the move, saying it amounts to finding the trio guilty before they’ve been charged or convicted of any crime.
And Duffy and Wallin have threatened to challenge the move in court.
But Carignan says the Senate has already concluded that the trio broke the rules for claiming housing allowances and travel expenses and that the three have themselves recognized this by agreeing to reimburse the chamber for the invalid claims.
A vote on the suspension motions is not expected today; Carignan says Conservative senators will be allowed to vote as they see fit.
