You go girl ..... right out the front door!
Good Day Readers:
Given the large number of Canadians struggling to make ends meet it's difficult, if not impossible, to feel sorry for the likes of Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau. With the Conservatives enjoying a significant majority in the senate (Conservatives = 60, Liberals = 33, Independents = 6 plus 6 vacancies), it's hard to see how a motion to toss them out on their arses without pay will fail even if several Conservatives vote against party lines. Rest assured the party machinery will apply maximum pressure on them to vote as Stephen Harper directs. Perhaps the only question remaining is will there be any amendment(s) to the Bill that eventually passes.
Suspension? What does that mean? Will the three be disenfranchised forever and ever or until they croak whichever comes first? Besides, who needs them? In fact, does Canada need a senate? If the Harper government is serious about balancing the budget abolishing the senate will save taxpayers approximately a cool $90 million a year. Who needs the freeloaders?
So sit back and enjoy the theatreatics of The Pamela Wallin Show live and direct from the Canadian senate - please do not shed any tears.
Look for Ms Wallin's "speech" likely written with the aid of her legal counsel (Toronto-based Terrence O'Sullivan - Lax O'Sullivan Scott Lisus) to be a harbinger of the statement of claim she may file in an upcoming lawsuit once she's turfed - a process that could be even more interesting to follow.
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
Pamela Wallin faces showdown in the Senate
The embattled senator is looking at an RCMP probe, possible pay loss and suspension from the chamber
By Leslie MacKinnon
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Pamela Wallin may finally have her say on the floor of the Senate today about
her expense claims and the motion to suspend her without pay.
Wallin, along with Senators Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau, face motions that would suspend them from the Senate, and strip them of pay and benefits because of inappropriately claimed expenses.
The motions will be voted on Wednesday if they aren't sent to committee for study, as Liberal Senate Leader James Cowan proposed Tuesday.
If Wallin rises in her own defence, her speech would follow the explosive tirade Duffy let loose Tuesday as he aimed accusations not just at the Prime Minister's Office and some former Senate colleagues, but at Stephen Harper himself.
Wallin, like Duffy, is a former TV host and compelling speaker who used to be paid handsomely to speak in public, so her address, if it happens, could be as dramatic and jaw-dropping as Duffy's.
Duffy, in a riveting speech, detailed conversations he claimed he had with Harper and PMO officials, as well as the Conservative Senate leader at the time, Marjory LeBreton, about a deal he said he had struck with them to contritely pay back his expenses.
If he didn't comply, Duffy charged, he was threatened with expulsion from the Senate and the loss of his paycheque.
Wallin did not get a chance to speak Wednesday in the Senate before time ran out and the sitting was adjourned.
Brazeau did address the Senate about his case, saying, "If this is the Harper government's way of believing in democracy, we should all be very fearful. This is a complete joke, a farce."
Brazeau also gave notice of a motion of his own, asking to meet with the Senate internal economy committee in public, rather than behind closed doors as this committee usually operates, and discuss his housing claims. His motion might be debated Wednesday.
Spotlight on travel expenses
Wallin, like Brazeau and Duffy, was audited by the private accounting firm Deloitte. That report identified a pattern of Wallin flying to Toronto frequently, but using her Senate travel points meant to apply to trips between Ottawa and Saskatchewan, the area she represents in the Senate.
Senator Pamela Wallin, shown leaving Parliament Hill after attending the Senate on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, a day before she is to face motions that would suspend her from the Senate over inappropriately claimed expenses. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press).
The Senate's internal economy committee voted to forward her report to the RCMP, but did not give Wallin an opportunity to defend herself before committee members. The committee also did not formally adopt the report, as it did in similar reports done on Duffy and Brazeau.
Wallin has already repaid approximately $140,000 in expenses, saying she made honest mistakes, although she called the Deloitte report "flawed and unfair."
Given the large number of Canadians struggling to make ends meet it's difficult, if not impossible, to feel sorry for the likes of Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau. With the Conservatives enjoying a significant majority in the senate (Conservatives = 60, Liberals = 33, Independents = 6 plus 6 vacancies), it's hard to see how a motion to toss them out on their arses without pay will fail even if several Conservatives vote against party lines. Rest assured the party machinery will apply maximum pressure on them to vote as Stephen Harper directs. Perhaps the only question remaining is will there be any amendment(s) to the Bill that eventually passes.
Suspension? What does that mean? Will the three be disenfranchised forever and ever or until they croak whichever comes first? Besides, who needs them? In fact, does Canada need a senate? If the Harper government is serious about balancing the budget abolishing the senate will save taxpayers approximately a cool $90 million a year. Who needs the freeloaders?
So sit back and enjoy the theatreatics of The Pamela Wallin Show live and direct from the Canadian senate - please do not shed any tears.
Look for Ms Wallin's "speech" likely written with the aid of her legal counsel (Toronto-based Terrence O'Sullivan - Lax O'Sullivan Scott Lisus) to be a harbinger of the statement of claim she may file in an upcoming lawsuit once she's turfed - a process that could be even more interesting to follow.
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
The embattled senator is looking at an RCMP probe, possible pay loss and suspension from the chamber
By Leslie MacKinnon
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Wallin, along with Senators Mike Duffy and Patrick Brazeau, face motions that would suspend them from the Senate, and strip them of pay and benefits because of inappropriately claimed expenses.
The motions will be voted on Wednesday if they aren't sent to committee for study, as Liberal Senate Leader James Cowan proposed Tuesday.
If Wallin rises in her own defence, her speech would follow the explosive tirade Duffy let loose Tuesday as he aimed accusations not just at the Prime Minister's Office and some former Senate colleagues, but at Stephen Harper himself.
Wallin, like Duffy, is a former TV host and compelling speaker who used to be paid handsomely to speak in public, so her address, if it happens, could be as dramatic and jaw-dropping as Duffy's.
Duffy, in a riveting speech, detailed conversations he claimed he had with Harper and PMO officials, as well as the Conservative Senate leader at the time, Marjory LeBreton, about a deal he said he had struck with them to contritely pay back his expenses.
If he didn't comply, Duffy charged, he was threatened with expulsion from the Senate and the loss of his paycheque.
Wallin did not get a chance to speak Wednesday in the Senate before time ran out and the sitting was adjourned.
Brazeau did address the Senate about his case, saying, "If this is the Harper government's way of believing in democracy, we should all be very fearful. This is a complete joke, a farce."
Brazeau also gave notice of a motion of his own, asking to meet with the Senate internal economy committee in public, rather than behind closed doors as this committee usually operates, and discuss his housing claims. His motion might be debated Wednesday.
Spotlight on travel expenses
Wallin, like Brazeau and Duffy, was audited by the private accounting firm Deloitte. That report identified a pattern of Wallin flying to Toronto frequently, but using her Senate travel points meant to apply to trips between Ottawa and Saskatchewan, the area she represents in the Senate.
The Senate's internal economy committee voted to forward her report to the RCMP, but did not give Wallin an opportunity to defend herself before committee members. The committee also did not formally adopt the report, as it did in similar reports done on Duffy and Brazeau.
Wallin has already repaid approximately $140,000 in expenses, saying she made honest mistakes, although she called the Deloitte report "flawed and unfair."
posted by Clare L. Pieuk at 10:48 AM
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