ISG Senators should create a legitimate expense oversight committee, now

With its new majority, the Independent Senators Group should quickly set up an oversight body for Senators’ expenses, with three external members and two Senators. ‘Twas four days before Christmas, when through the backdoor, as by stealth, the Senate finally shared with Canadians its response to the recommendations from the auditor general’s June 2015 report concerning questionable or improper expense claims by Senators over the previous years. The AG had proposed the creation of an independent body to provide oversight of Senators’ expenses, the majority of whose membership, including its chair, was to be independent of the Senate. Moreover, the meetings of the oversight body would be open to the public, and all of its reports, minutes, decisions, and reasons would be published on the Senate website. The AG came to this recommendation after examining more than 80,000 expense items, including travel, living, and office expenses which are part of the Senate’s $114-million annual budget. The AG report was scathing. It was also clear, concise, and compelling: the new body should have “the authority to review expenses incurred by individual Senators (and) to make final decisions on whether those expenses comply with the rules, policies and guidelines, and whether amounts should be repaid by Senators.” Three-and-a-half years after the release of the AG report, just before Christmas, the Senate Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament, chaired by Conservative Senator Leo Housakos, rejected the AG’s recommendation in spite of repeated public calls for better oversight of Senators’ expenses. The Senate’s contrary and tardy response reflects poorly on the institution. Again the Senate let Canadians down. We expected more and better from Senators after years of expenses scandals. What could they be hiding, some of us wondered? Said Senator Housakos in his pre-Christmas announcement : “... there was extensive debate about whether the new committee should include non-Senators as members. ... A consensus did not emerge and the Rules Committee recommended: That the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration again review whether the Audit and oversight Committee should include non-Senators as members.” Shame. Three and a half years of delay, leading to more delay is not a policy. Totally unacceptable. So much wasted time. Procrastination at taxpayers’ expense. “There is regular time and there is Senate time” we use to say when I worked in the Senate. Pity the Senate Rules Committee, its chair and its deputy chair, Liberal Serge Joyal. What is it Senators don’t understand? Senators reviewing and approving their own expenses or reimbursements of their expenses is a conflict of interest, because they may be viewed as looking after their own interests or those of other Senators. The historic self-policing of expenses must end. Senators must avoid even the appearance of impropriety in the performance of their duties on behalf of the Senate. This is why a Senators-only oversight committee would have no credibility whatsoever. Put simply, this is a matter of public trust and integrity. Moreover, in today’s world, public and private-sector employers and employees are expected to adhere to the highest possible standards of ethical conduct. Ethical behaviour and compliance is widely regarded as a workplace priority. Surely this applies to the Senate as well. What is it that the Rules Committee does not understand? The Senate has been a laggard in ethical issues. It took almost 10 years for the Senate’s Conflict of Interest Code to catch up with other jurisdictions across Canada. Perhaps the Rules Committee needs “new blood" at the top? If Senators want to regain and retain the confidence of Canadians, they cannot be tardy, reclusive, and insular when it comes to matters as important as expenses and conflict of interest rules. The UK (2009) and Australia (2017) both established independent parliamentary expenses authorities. I might note in passing that the five members of the U.K. Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) are ALL outside and independent of the House of Commons in accordance with the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009. In other words, there are no MPs on IPSA. Some of the MPs complain about the paperwork, but 99 per cent of all claims made by MPs are now within the rules and public confidence has been restored since IPSA’s introduction. This is what it’s all about: public confidence, trust, integrity, transparency and accountability. The Senate is facing a huge trust deficit. What are Senators waiting for? Another expenses scandal? If I was a new Senator I would be worried. That said, all is not lost. There may be light at the end of the tunnel and changes for the better in 2019 now that the Independent Senators’ Group is starting the New Year with a majority (albeit small) of Senate seats (54), with 31 Conservatives, nine Liberals, and 11 non-affiliated Senators. Where do we go from here? First, having discussed the matter with friendly colleagues and sought their support, the ISG should announce its intention to introduce legislation establishing a five-member body to provide oversight of Senators’ expenses of which three, including its chair, will be non-Senators, outside members independent of the Senate, as well as two existing Senators. The oversight body will review expenses incurred by individual Senators and make final decisions on whether they comply with the rules. Second, a first draft of the oversight body mandate and composition should be referred as soon as possible to the full Senate and discussed publicly in an open forum for all Canadians to see. Third, the matter may not be decided in one meeting, but it is important that there be a highly respected facilitator to help keep the discussion open and flowing, allowing every Senator to express his or her views and to assist Senators in reaching a consensus. Former governor general David Johnston comes to mind. Fourth, the auditor general should be invited to make a presentation to the Senate as a whole, to respond to questions and to participate in the meeting. Fifth, external experts with relevant background should be brought in to share their experience and be involved in the discussions. Professor Ian Greene, York University, as well as Ruth Evans, chair of the UK Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, would both be excellent. Finally, the full Senate should vote on the mandate and composition of the oversight body in an open setting, and the proceedings be televised. The people’s Senate has to pull itself together, get with it, and act now. Presto. “Delay” in the Senate is too often code for “derail." Let’s get real and cut the legalese and procedural stuff, and move tout de suite. Talk is cheap. Time for ISG Senators to use their new-found majority to kick-start the Independent Senate Expenses Authority (ISEA). The Senate is not a closed shop. It does not belong to a handful of long-serving Senators, but to all of us. Let the sunshine in at long last. Jean T. Fournier is a former deputy minister and the former Senate ethics officer. The Hill Times

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ISG Senators should create a legitimate expense oversight committee, now

With its majority in the Chamber, the Independent Senators Group can put an end to the dithering and attempts to keep Senators in charge of overseeing their own expenses.

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