Scandal-plagued Senate to get scant mention in throne speech

The disgraced Senate will serve as a backdrop for next week's throne speech and is bound to dominate debate during the fallsitting of Parliament.

Yet there'll be scant mention of the scandal-plagued Senate inthe speech, which is to be read Wednesday by Governor General DavidJohnston from a regal throne in the ornate upper chamber.

Insiders say Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government hasconcluded it can do little to clean up the unelected Senate untilthe Supreme Court rules on the constitutional requirements forreforming or abolishing the chamber, which could take a year or more.

Hence, any kind of reform to the upper house has been put on hold-- including purely administrative measures, which would be entirelywithin the government's purview to implement, such as requiringsenators to publicly disclose details of their expenses.

Expensescandal not going away soon

The throne speech's expected silence on the subject comes amid anongoing Senate expenses scandal that has mushroomed over the pastyear and shows no sign of going away any time soon.

The RCMP is investigating allegedly fraudulent living and travelexpenses claimed by four senators -- former Conservative caucusmembers Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau and Pamela Wallin and formerLiberal Mac Harb.

Duffy is also under the Mounties' microscope for accepting$90,000 from Harper's former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, in orderto reimburse the Senate for his dubious expense claims.

And police documents filed in court earlier this week show theprobe has expanded to include allegations that Duffy gave a friend$65,000 in contracts for little or no work.

Auditor generalreviewnowunderway

Senate finance officials, meanwhile, have been asked to reviewliving expenses claimed by a fifth senator -- Conservative CarolynStewart Olsen, a former senior aide to Harper and a key member ofthe Senate committee which called in the RCMP on the other four.

Stewart Olsen last week said Senate finance officials hadreviewed her claims and "found nothing improper," after a newsreport suggested she'd wrongly claimed more than $4,000 foraccommodation and meals at a time when she was not involved in anySenate business.

Sen. Gerald Comeau, chair of the Senate's internal economycommittee, told The Canadian Press in an email that he's referredthe matter to the Senate administration "for review and to referany issues to the auditor general, if necessary."

Comeau did not respond when asked if he's satisfied that StewartOlsen -- a member of his committee, which oversees senators' expenses-- has done nothing wrong.

Auditor General Michael Ferguson is already in the process oflaunching a comprehensive audit of all senators' expenses.

Senate reform likely on hold until Supreme Court weighs in

Amid all this, the government has asked the Supreme Court toadvise whether it can act alone to impose term limits and create amechanism for electing senators or would need the consent of atleast seven provinces.

It has also asked the court to advise whether outright abolitionwould require the approval of seven or all provinces.

The court is not scheduled to hear oral arguments until nextmonth and could take a year or more to offer its opinion.
The government's contention that its hands are tied until thecourt weighs in is unlikely to satisfy opposition parties, whichhave proposed their own ideas for making the Senate more accountableand transparent.

New Democrats have challenged both Conservatives and Liberals toban their senators from participating in party caucus meetings andacting as party fundraisers or campaign organizers from their perchin the upper house.

Liberal senators, MPs set to post expense details online

Later this month, Liberal MPs and senators are to begin publiclyposting their hospitality and travel expenses in greater detail thanpreviously required and have challenged other parties to do thesame.

The Senate adopted tighter rules last spring for claiming livingand travel expenses, including requiring receipts and requiringsenators to explain the purpose of trips when claiming travelexpenses.

But opposition parties have derided the measures asinsufficient.