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The House

Chaos in the Senate as Auditor General report flags improper expenses

This week on The House, the Senate scandal reached yet another level this week thanks to leaks from the Auditor General's upcoming report. We talk to the leader of the Senate Liberals James Cowan. Then, AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde talks about harnessing the Aboriginal vote ahead of the election. Plus astronauts and the politics of space, and our In House panel.
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The Auditor General's report on senate expenses is out — will the reputation of the Red Chamber ever recover? (CP Photo: Adrian Wyld)

It's another massive blow to the reputation of the Red Chamber -- two sitting senators being investigated by the RCMP, along with seven retired senators, for "big problems" with ineligible expenses. Another 21 senators have been found to have less serious issues.

Even the three most powerful figures at the top -- Senate Speaker Leo Housakos, government leader Claude Carignan and Opposition leader James Cowan -- can't escape with clean hands. All three have also been flagged with inappropriate expenses.

The Senate is left reeling...and scrambling for damage control before the Auditor General's report is officially released next week. Will the Senate recover, or is this the final death blow for an institution already battling claims of corruption, self-interest and scandal?

The Senate's Opposition leader, Liberal Senator James Cowan, sits down with us to talk accountability and next steps. 

The Auditor General's report wasn't the only report making waves this week. The OPP's assessment of the RCMP's response to the Oct. 22 Parliament Hill shooting found that the RCMP missed a chance to stop gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau from entering Parliament.

Kristel Peters was on Parliament Hill that fateful day. She was the young mother who first told an RCMP officer that there was an armed gunman on the Hill. Her story has never been told publicly until now -- Kristel Peters joins The House for an exclusive interview.

And as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission wrapped up its emotional closing ceremonies this week, Canadians across the country looked to the federal government for a response to the TRC's recommendations for repairing the relationships between Aboriginal Peoples and non-Aboriginals. 

"There was no response. That's the sad part. Silence," National Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations tells The House.

Bellegarde calls for greater government action on two specific fronts -- Aboriginal education and child welfare -- and makes the case for how a strong, united Aboriginal vote could sway this fall's federal election.

Finally, In House panelists Chris Hall, who broke the Senate story, and CBC parliamentary reporter Rosemary Barton dig into -- what else? -- the shocking revelations from the Auditor General's report. 

We also have an extra segment this week. Canadian astronauts Jeremy Hansen and David Saint-Jacques might not be heading for Mars, but they're on track to go into space. That's after Canada confirmed this this week that it's extending its commitment to the International Space Station until 2024. We discuss the politics of space travel with the two astronauts and the Industry Minister, James Moore.

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