James Cowan says disputed expense claim process not tainted

Nova Scotia Senator James Cowan says he's not in any type of conflict of interest because he was one of the senators who appointed an arbitrator who will now evaluate his own expense claim dispute.

"I have absolute confidence that I did absolutely nothing wrong. That I've behaved entirely appropriately throughout this whole thing," he said.

After a two-year review, the Auditor General of Canada has flagged Cowan, along with 29 other senators, as having ineligible expenses. Nine of those cases were referred to the RCMP.

Cowan, who is the opposition leader in the Senate, says he hasn't seen the report that is expected to be made public next Tuesday. CBC News learned 50 copies of the auditor general's report were handed over to the Senate and the Prime Minister's Office Thursday in order to give staff the opportunity to prepare for how to respond to the potentially damaging findings.

Three Toronto trips questioned

Cowan says he's been asked to repay $10,000 relating to three trips he took to Toronto in 2011. He told Maritime Noon those trips were for parliamentary business.

He says he doesn't know what drew the Auditor General's attention to the trip and hasn't heard back about what additional information auditors are looking for.

But Cowan says four years later, he has nothing else to add.

"There's no missing receipts, it was all perfectly straightforward," Cowan says. "There is no more information about them. As far as I'm concerned they're absolutely legitimate claims. They were processed and paid by the Senate and that's it."

Cowan disputes any suggestion that the arbitration process is tainted because of his own role in setting it up.

"I believe the way we're proceeding to deal with now is the way that will help restore the reputation of the Senate in the eyes of Canadians."

Arbitrator appointed

Cowan, along with Senate Speaker Leo Housakos and government leader Claude Carignan, became one of the Senate's liaisons with the Auditor General's Office earlier this spring. He took on the role after the auditor general sent out letters to the 30 senators considered to have problematic claims.

That group of three Senators then decided an arbitrator would adjudicate any disputes over those expense claims.

Cowan says he's called for a process to deal with expense claims since concerns first came up about those filed by Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau.

Housakos named former Supreme Court justice Ian Binnie to the role on May 26, saying Binnie would arbitrate all disputes over repayment of funds, including those cases referred for criminal investigation.

"That is the right process. It's much better than the alternative, which it to have Senator judging themselves." Cowan says.