As we inch toward the full release of the Auditor General’s report, more material is leaking out, while some senators are trying to get ahead of the story and highlighting what they see as problems with the audits. Conservative Senator Janis Johnson, for example, was flagged for a couple of flights, and she even provided ample documentation to show that it was parliamentary business, however the auditor made a value judgement – he “felt” the trips were personal, never mind that the personal aspects to said trips (also perfectly allowed and not billed to the Senate) were booked after the work trips had been arranged, and yes, documentation supports it. That the auditor insisted that the problem was that she didn’t use the Outlook calendar is an exceedingly bizarre criteria for finding the expenses questionable, despite other supporting documentation. Given the legitimate dispute over the audit report that he has expressed publicly, and that of Speaker Housakos, it’s no doubt that we’ll start to get a better taste of what could be a very problematic audit from the auditor’s side. Meanwhile, we’re starting to get more boneheaded commentary from the pundit class again, wondering why the government just can’t stop funding the Senate – as though it wasn’t a completely separate house of Parliament with institutional independence and not answer able to the government. Why not cut off funding to the Supreme Court as well? Oh, right – we have a thing called the Constitution. Other hosts are stoking this hysteria over what they are trying to claim is a conflict of interest between the Senate leadership and the establishment of the arbitration process with Justice Ian Binnie, but when you look at the facts, it’s just not supportable, as Senator Cowan amply pointed out on The House over the weekend. When it’s pointed out that Duffy and company didn’t get this kind of a process, Cowan said point blank that he didn’t agree with that process at the time and that two wrongs don’t make a right. Elsewhere, Thomas Mulcair vowed he would consult with the premiers to try to abolish the Senate if he should be elected, to which I say good luck with that. You think the Atlantic provinces will give up that representation, or that Quebec wouldn’t have a laundry list of other demands? Keep dreaming.

https://twitter.com/inklesspw/status/607713842966073344

Good reads:

• David Reevely ponders the incredulity of the justifications given for the expenses at the Duffy trial.
• What’s that? Shared Services Canada’s big email project is delayed even more and is over budget? You don’t say!
• At the Federation of Canadian Municipalities meeting over the weekend, both Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair shared their parties’ urban agendas.
• Women are under-represented in the Canadian Forces, especially in leadership roles, but they keep trying to quietly cut recruitment targets for women.
• The National Chief of the AFN is none too happy about the news of a billion dollars in lapsed spending at Aboriginal Affairs.
• Oh, look! More attempted cheap outrage, this time over the re-opening of Canada House in London! Because that’s where we really want to be seen serving Ritz crackers and ginger ale.

Odds and ends:

A DND building has been off the power grid since mid-May, and the issue still hasn’t been resolved.

Both Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair met with Rachel Notley over the weekend, apparently hoping some of her shine will rub off on them.