A Canadian senator is involved in a lengthy and significant criminal trial.
Tag: Mike Duffy
Three Canadian Senators Suspended – Historic Move By Senate
In an historic move, three Canadian senators have been tossed from the Senate.
Senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau have been “suspended” (removed from their jobs for a period of time).
Members of the Senate voted to suspend the three until the next federal election, likely in 2015.
The vote was hotly debated and discussed.
Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin had made impassioned speeches to the Senate, pleading their case and hoping to avoid being removed.
But in the end, the three senators were suspended.
Canada’s Senate Scandal Grows Amid Accusations And Denials
Things have been heating up in the Canadian Senate.
Two days ago, Senator Mike Duffy made a riveting speech. He accused the Prime Minister and some other senators of bullying him into paying $90,000 back to the government when he didn’t think he should have to.
His accusations were part of a dramatic speech.
“The sad truth is, I allowed myself to be intimidated into doing what I knew in my heart was wrong, out of a fear of losing my job,” Duffy said in his speech.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has defended himself against the accusations.
Then yesterday another senator, Pamela Wallin, made a heated speech in the Senate. She accused 14 senators of leaking information about her.
It’s all part of a growing “senate scandal.”
Canadian Senators Being Investigated
The Canadian Senate is an important part of the Government of Canada, but now some senators are being investigated to find out if they took money they weren’t entitled to.
A senator’s job is to give the final approval to a bill before it becomes law.
Some Senate members have been accused of taking money for things that are not covered by their Senate budget.
The expenses of senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin, Mac Harb, and Patrick Brazeau are being looked at.
Mike Duffy used to be a journalist before he was appointed to the Senate. In the Senate, he represents Prince Edward Island.
He was accused, along with the other senators, of taking money for things that he had no right to.
Canadian Senators’ Expenses Being Reviewed
Senators are people who are chosen to help make the laws in Canada.
But right now, some of the senators are getting attention because of money they are spending on travel, and on apartments or houses to live in while they sit in the Senate in Ottawa, Ont., Canada’s capital city.
Senators can get as much as $22,000 each year from Canadians or their living expenses, as long as their main residence is at least 100 kilometres away from Ottawa.
But people say that some of the senators are claiming money to pay for their homes even though they are not living in them when they claim to be.
In other cases, people say the homes that are being paid for by Canadians are the main place of residence, or where the senators live most of the time — not just when they have to help make laws in the Senate.
If that is the case, these people say, the senators should be paying the cost themselves.
The senators who are being questioned about whether Canadians should be paying their housing and travel expenses include former TV news personalities Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy.
