Nine senators are having their cases referred to the RCMP
after the Auditor-General examined the Senate’s expenses. Twenty-one other senators are being asked to reimburse taxpayers. For more
developments on the Senate expenses investigation,
read Daniel Leblanc's report here.
Current senators
PIERRE-HUGHES BOISVENU
Appointed by: Stephen Harper as a Conservative on Jan. 29, 2010
Occupation: Victim’s rights advocate and public servant
Bio: Mr. Boisvenu has frequently served as the public face of the Conservative government’s tough-on-crime agenda. After his daughter Julie was murdered by a repeat offender in 2002, he founded the Murdered or Missing Persons’ Families’ Association, which aims to help victims’ families advocate for changes to the criminal justice system. He is also a co-founder of a centre for abused women in Val d’Or, Quebec and a school camp for underprivileged youth in Estrie, Que.
Mr. Boisvenu has courted controversy in the past. In 2012, he sparked outrage with a suggestion that people convicted of murder should be given rope in their prison cells and allowed to decide whether to hang themselves. He later apologized for the remark. The following year, Mr. Boisvenu admitted to reporters that his office continued to employ his girlfriend for six months after the Senate ethics officer told him he must end the relationship or fire her. The woman eventually took a different job in the Senate.
Amount of disputed expenses: $61,076
COLIN KENNY
Appointed by: Pierre Trudeau as a Liberal on June 29, 1984
Occupation: Political staffer and former energy executive
Bio: Mr. Kenny’s career in the Senate focused largely on defence and national security matters. He is a former chair of the Senate committee on national security and defence and has been a frequent public commentator on Canada’s role in Afghanistan, the Arctic and border security, among other issues. He was an executive with Dome Petroleum Ltd. in Calgary in the early 1980s, according to a biography posted on his personal website. Before that, he worked in the prime minister’s office between 1969 and 1979, serving as a special assistant, director of operations, policy adviser and assistant principal secretary to then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau.
Amount of disputed expenses: $35,549
Retired senators
SHARON CARSTAIRS
Appointed by: Jean Chrétien as a Liberal on Sept. 15, 1994
Retired: Oct. 17, 2011 (resigned to spend more time with family)
Occupation: Manitoba MLA and leader of Manitoba and Alberta Liberal parties
Bio: As leader of the Manitoba Liberals, Ms. Carstairs became the first female Official Opposition leader in a Canadian legislature. In the Senate, she held special responsibility for palliative-care policy, authoring two major reports on the subject, and served as government leader in the Senate from 2001 to 2003.
Amount of disputed expenses: $7,528
MARIE-PAULE CHARETTE-POULIN
Appointed by: Jean Chrétien as a Liberal on Sept. 21, 1995
Retired: April 17, 2015 (resigned suddenly, citing health reasons)
Occupation: Public servant and vice-president of the CBC
Bio: After working in broadcasting and government communications, Ms. Charette-Poulin led a Senate committee on communications and telecommunications. While a senator, she was president of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2006 to 2008. She represented Northern Ontario.
Amount of disputed expenses: $5,606
ROSE-MARIE LOSIER-COOL
Appointed by: Jean Chrétien as a Liberal on March 21, 1995
Retired: June 18, 2012 (reached mandatory retirement age of 75)
Occupation: Teacher
Bio: The long-time New Brunswick teacher and women’s advocate became deputy speaker twice, and was the first woman to serve as chief government whip in the Senate in 2004.
Amount of disputed expenses: $110,051
DON OLIVER
Appointed by: Brian Mulroney as a Conservative on Sept. 7, 1990
Retired: Nov. 16, 2013 (reached mandatory retirement age of 75)
Occupation: Lawyer
Bio: Mr. Oliver was legal counsel for the Progressive Conservatives during six elections in the 1970s and 1980s, and served in several executive roles. In 1990, he became the first black man ever appointed to the Senate. He served as deputy speaker from 2010 to 2013.
Amount of disputed expenses: $23,395
BILL ROMPKEY
Appointed by: Jean Chrétien as a Liberal on Sept. 21, 1995
Retired: May 13, 2011 (reached mandatory retirement age of 75)
Occupation: Newfoundland Liberal MP, educator
Bio: A teacher and former naval officer, Mr. Rompkey was first elected to the House in 1972, and served as a cabinet minister and minister of state under Pierre Trudeau and John Turner. He has written several books about his native Newfoundland and Labrador.
Amount of disputed expenses: $17,292
GERRY ST. GERMAIN
Appointed by: Brian Mulroney as a Conservative on June 23, 1993
Retired: Nov. 6, 2012 (reached mandatory retirement age of 75)
Occupation: Pilot, police officer and poultry farmer
Bio: Mr. St. Germain was a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament from B.C., who served briefly as a junior minister in Mr. Mulroney’s government. After he was defeated in the 1988 election, he served as president of the PC party before being appointed to the Red Chamber in Mr. Mulroney’s last days as prime minister. He played a key role in uniting the PCs and Reform party into the modern Conservative party in 2003.
Amount of disputed expenses: $67,588
ROD ZIMMER
Appointed by: Paul Martin as a Liberal on Aug. 2, 2005
Retired: Aug. 2, 2013 (resigned due to ill health)
Occupation: Businessman
Bio: Mr. Zimmer, who worked as an executive at the Manitoba Lotteries Foundation and CanWest Capital Corp., was appointed to the Senate by Paul Martin after years of fundraising for the prime minister and the Liberals. In 2012, his wife Maygan Sensenberger attracted significant attention after an outburst on an Air Canada flight. A Senate committee took a closer look at his expense claims in 2013, shortly after he resigned, but said they were satisfied with his explanations.
Amount of disputed expenses: $176,014
With files from the Canadian Press