Four surprising things about Pamela Wallin!
I. How did Pamela Wallin calculate she owed taxpayers $38,300 for inappropriate expenses?
2. Why did she repay this amount before the audit was completed?
3. If the audit is "fundamentally flawed and unfair" why does she not challenge its results in court?
4. Did she believe her eyebrow-raising expenses would never be noticed or challenged?
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
4 surprising things in Pamela Wallin's expense audit
An eyebrow-raising audit of Saskatchewan senator's travel expenses
By Leslie MacKinnon
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Senator Pamela Wallin speaks to reporters outside a Senate committee hearing on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Monday, August 12, 2013. (Patrick Doyle/Canadian Press)
Some of the findings by the independent auditing firm Deloitte about Senator Pamela Wallin's expense claims are eye-catching and difficult to explain. The 95-page Deloitte report released Tuesday suggests Wallin should repay approximately $120,000 in claims it judges were made for expenses not related to Senate business, an amount that includes the $38,000 she has already voluntarily repaid.
Here are some of Deloitte's surprising conclusions.
On Monday, Wallin told reporters she did not intend to deceive Deloitte, but "I was advised, partway through the process, that I should only include information relevant to the actual expenses being claimed. So we formatted our calendar accordingly."
Wallin didn't speak at the dinner in 2009, but rather one year earlier, in 2008, before she was appointed to the Senate. The auditors found Wallin's electronic calendar had been changed to add the awards dinner event and delete the 8 p.m. flight.
The discrepancy is explained as a mistake in a July letter written by Wallin's lawyer to the auditors.
In another example, Deloitte notes Wallin made a partial expense claim for speaking at a Saskatchewan $100-a-plate event for four riding associations. On the Senate backup copy of Wallin's calendar, there was an entry that read "4 riding fundraiser." That notation was removed from the copy Wallin gave Deloitte.
Here are some of Deloitte's surprising conclusions.
1. Documents were altered by Wallin's office
Deloitte lists entries on a copy of an online calendar Wallin provided for the audit and compared them to backup copies Deloitte obtained from the Senate. The auditors list almost 400 entries on the backups, mostly to do with Wallin's activities in her role as a board director in several firms and organizations, that do not appear on the copy she gave to Deloitte. Because the copy Wallin provided was "non-forensic," Deloitte couldn't determine when the changes were made or who made them.On Monday, Wallin told reporters she did not intend to deceive Deloitte, but "I was advised, partway through the process, that I should only include information relevant to the actual expenses being claimed. So we formatted our calendar accordingly."
- Chris Hall: Clipping Pamela Wallin's wings
- 10 expenses Deloitte auditors found ineligible
- Read Senator Pamela Wallin's statement
- Pamela Wallin calls audit process 'flawed and unfair'
2. Deloitte provides examples of some of the most puzzling alterations
In June 9, 2009, Wallin claimed Senate expenses for an awards dinner she said she attended for the Institute of Corporate Directors in Toronto, though the airline ticket indicates she didn't leave Ottawa until 8 p.m. and didn't arrive in Toronto until after 9 p.m. Through interviews and internet research, Deloitte determinedWallin didn't speak at the dinner in 2009, but rather one year earlier, in 2008, before she was appointed to the Senate. The auditors found Wallin's electronic calendar had been changed to add the awards dinner event and delete the 8 p.m. flight.
The discrepancy is explained as a mistake in a July letter written by Wallin's lawyer to the auditors.
In another example, Deloitte notes Wallin made a partial expense claim for speaking at a Saskatchewan $100-a-plate event for four riding associations. On the Senate backup copy of Wallin's calendar, there was an entry that read "4 riding fundraiser." That notation was removed from the copy Wallin gave Deloitte.
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