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Globe and Mail public editor: Breakfast meetings with senator OK under Globe code of conduct

By Sylvia Stead, for the Globe and Mail Last week, an arbitration review of Senate expenses by former Supreme Court justice Ian Binnie cut the amount of disputed expenses owed by 14 senators. And when the RCMP dropped its investigation of 24 out of 30 senators on expenses, the only senator who took part in the…

By Sylvia Stead, for the Globe and Mail

Last week, an arbitration review of Senate expenses by former Supreme Court justice Ian Binnie cut the amount of disputed expenses owed by 14 senators.

And when the RCMP dropped its investigation of 24 out of 30 senators on expenses, the only senator who took part in the arbitration but whose case has not been dismissed by the RCMP is Colin Kenny, who sits as an independent Liberal.

Mr. Kenny isn’t commenting on the report, but his case was given special note by Mr. Binnie, who found that the senator still owed $27,458 in travel expenses.

The Globe and Mail reported: “During a two-year period, Mr. Kenny charged taxpayers more than $153,000 in total for travel to Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Edmonton and side trips, Mr. Binnie wrote in his report released on Monday. ‘There’s an air of artificiality about many of those trips,’ Mr. Binnie told reporters.

“The report found that the senator routinely charged for travel to meet journalists – including The Globe and Mail’s national security reporter, Colin Freeze.

Continue reading this on the Globe and Mail website where it was originally published.

Sylvia Stead is the Public Editor of the Globe and Mail.