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RCMP allege Mike Duffy gave $65,000 Senate contract to friend for “little or no apparent work”

If Stephen Harper was hoping that proroguing Parliament would make all Senate scandals go away, he was sadly mistaken.

On Tuesday, CBC News reported that Senator Mike Duffy — using taxpayer dollars — paid a contractor almost $65,000 for "little or no apparent work" over a four year period between 2009 and 2012.

According to CBC, the RCMP is seeking banking information to find out where exactly the money went.

In the affidavit pertaining to Duffy, Cpl. Greg Horton says he believes Duffy "hired a friend as a consultant over an approximate four year period, and paid him a total of approximately $65,000 during that time, for little or no apparent work."

Horton said in the affidavit that the friend, Gerald Donohue, was interviewed by investigators "and acknowledged that he produced no tangible work product for Duffy."

Donahue, who used to work with Duffy at CTV, has cooperated with investigators. He told the RCMP that he didn't see the money because it went into his business.

[ Related: Sen. Patrick Brazeau taken to hospital earlier this week, office asks for privacy ]

As part of their quarterly expenditure reports, Senators are not required to disclose their contracts to the public.

Gregory Thomas of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says that's a big part of the problem.

“Canadians have waited too long for Senators an MPs to come clean about their own contracts and employment arrangements – friends, girlfriends, political operators all find their way onto the Commons payroll, with no oversight from the Auditor General, and no disclosure under the Access to Information Act," he told Yahoo Canada News in an email exchange.

"Senators and MPs continue to behave as if they’re above the law. Canadians are fed up with it. How many contracts have Senators and MPs given out, just in the term of the current Parliament? Who is on their payroll in Ottawa and in their ridings? Nobody knows. And it’s Canadian taxpayers who are paying for it all.

"I can’t comment on any specific Senator and I don’t want to comment on an active police investigation, except to say that Senator Duffy probably wouldn’t have the problems he has today if all his contracts and expenses were fully disclosed, starting back in 2009."

[ Related: Mike Duffy thinks he’s been ‘thrown under the bus by the Conservatives: report ]

Duffy is also being investigated for breach of trust for a "pattern of filing fraudulent expense claims" and "fraud against the government" for accepting the $90,000 cheque from Nigel Wright, the prime minister's former chief of staff, in order to pay back improperly claimed living expenses.

He currently sits as an independent Senator.

[ Related: Tories want to change the “channel” on the Senate scandals ]

Meanwhile, one week before parliament resumes, the New Democrats have proposed new measures to "clean-up the Senate." Their proposal, unveiled at a press conference on Tuesday, calls for limiting Senators' partisan activities, establishing a single Ethics code for both the Parliament and the Senate and limiting senator travel.

"As we move towards Senate abolition, we still must act now to improve accountability. If the other parties agree to work with us, we can get this done during the upcoming session," NDP Democratic Reform critic Craig Scott said in a statement.

"It’s time we finally put a stop to the taxpayer-funded partisan work that both Conservatives and Liberals have taken advantage of for so many years."

Indeed, after a long summer, the senate scandal debate is still alive and well.

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

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