Auditor General ‘may not have a true understanding’ of travel situation — senator

NEWS/ POLITICS — Kamloops Senator Nancy Greene Raine says the Office of the Auditor General “may not have a true understanding or appreciation of the realities of cross-country travel in Canada.”

Greene Raine was responding to the Auditor General’s report on spending by Senators, which concluded she made errors in some of her expense submissions, including some involving attending ski shows.

While the Kamloops senator has repaid some of the expenses, she’s filed for arbitration on two items — an overnight stay in Vancouver and travel cost for Vancouver for an event involving another senator.

The AGO found that both were for personal reasons rather than official Senate business.

But Greene Raine said the overnight stop in Vancouver, after which she left on a vacation, was caused by missing a connecting flight to Kamloops after a Senate day in Ottawa.

“I consider this to be part of Senate travel,” she said.

The other occasion involved the 50^th wedding anniversary of another senator, which she said was her “parliamentary duty” to attend.

Greene Raine said she’ll repay the expenses if the independent arbitrator rules they were personal, but added, “In the matter of Senate travel, and I say this with all due respect, I believe the OAG may not have a true understanding or appreciate of the realities of cross-country travel in Canada.

“There are always last minute schedule changes, not to mention weather events, and my travel agent has performed well under these circumstances.”

Greene Raine’s total amount owing has been reported by CTV to be $2,800. She is one of 21 senators named in the audit but not recommended for RCMP referral. The expense records of nine others have been turned over toe the RCMP.

Here’s Senator Greene Raine’s full response as posted on her website.

Quotes from the Auditor Genera’s report are in italics:

Expense Errors made and repaid by Senator Nancy Greene Raine

Travel Expenses:

“On two occasions, the Senator stopped in Toronto as part of her travel to Ottawa. The stopovers in Toronto were made so that she could attend ski shows. The senator reviewed her claims in 2013, realized that she should not have claimed these expenses, and has made a full repayment for them. The incremental cost of the two stopovers was $1,688.”

 “During the audit period, (the) Senator was the chair of a community board in British Columbia. In March 2013, the Senator travelled from Ottawa to Calgary, using a flight pass. However, she incurred additional flight and mileage costs to attend a board meeting in Kelowna, British Columbia. In reviewing her claims in 2013, the Senator realized that she should not have claimed these expenses, and made a full repayment for them. The incremental travel cost was $353.”

As noted, these errors were discovered after a review in our office and promptly repaid. We have reviewed my travel books with my travel agent and my staff to prevent similar errors in the future.

Other Expenses:

“In February 2012, the Senator attended an Aboriginal awards event. She submitted an office expense claim that included the cost of the ticket for $345. Because Senate policy stipulated that the Senate would not fund admission tickets or expenditures that were contributions to charity or fundraising events, we determined that the ticket was an ineligible expense. The Senator has repaid the entire amount.”

As a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples I felt my attendance at the Vancouver event was appropriate. At the time I was not aware that the ticket was a charitable donation, having assumed it was to cover the cost of the vent. I promptly repaid the amount when the mistake was brought to my attention.

Expenses Dispute by Senator Nancy Greene Raine – Arbitration Requested

I am requesting arbitration for two items in the Auditor General’s report:

“In November 2012, the Senator travelled from her primary residence in Kamloops, British Columbia, to Ottawa. On her return, the Senator stopped overnight in Vancouver before leaving for a holiday with her spouse. We determined that the overnight stay was for personal interests. The incremental cost of the overnight stay in Vancouver was $211.”

Explanation: When the Senate sits past 4 p.m. on Thursdays and I cannot make the 5:30 p.m. direct flight to Vancouver, I miss the last connecting flight to Kamloops so must stay in a hotel and catch the first flight to Kamloops the following morning. When booking my holiday, there was no assurance that I would make the ongoing flight to Kamloops so it made sense to end my Senate working day at the hotel in Vancouver. I consider this to be part of Senate travel, i.e. part of my return trip home, and that my holiday would begin the following day. I am prepared to accept the decision of the arbitrator as to when my holiday began.

“On 25 November 2011, the Senator attended the 50^th wedding anniversary of another Senator, near Vancouver. The Senator stated that she had been invited to attend as a Senate colleague, because the Senator whose anniversary was being celebrated was her mentor in the Senate. We determined that this claim was primarily for personal activities, rather than parliamentary business. The incremental travel cost was $203.”

Explanation: This event was not just in celebration of the Senator’s 50^th Anniversary; it was a tribute to his long career in Parliament and was attended by federal, provincial and municipal leaders. As a Senate colleague with great respect for the particular Senator, I considered it a parliamentary duty to attend the event. I have the utmost confidence this is not only permitted but also recognized as parliamentary function under Senate Administrative Rules as follows:

“Parliamentary functions” means duties and activities related to the position of senator, wherever performed, and includes public official business and partisan matters, but does not include activities related to (a) the election of a member of the House of Commons during an election under the Canada Elections Act; or (b) the private business interests of a Senator or a member of a Senator’s family or household [2004-05-06] (Senate Administrative Rules, Division 1:00 Interpretation, Chapter 1:03 Definitions).”

If the independent arbitrator rules that these two expenses are personal I will repay them.

In the matter of Senate travel, and I say this with all due respect, I believe the OAG may not have a true understanding or appreciation of the realities of cross-country travel in Canada. There are always last minute schedule changes, not to mention weather events, and my travel agent has performed well under these circumstances.

Senator Nancy Greene Raine

June 9, 2015