Key developments:
- Duffy’s lawyer slams what he calls inconsistent Senate policies
- Defence says Duffy’s expenses, including photo enlargements, were within the rules
- Human resources officer testifies there was no oversight for who did the work on contracts issued by senators until 2011
CROSS-EXAMINATION
A day after the Crown suggested that Duffy used his Senate office budget to pay for things like photo enlargements and framing, the defence tried to make the case that the suspended senator’s service contracts did not break the rules. In any case, Donald Bayne argued, the rules were often vague or confusing.
In his cross-examination of Senate human resources officer Sonia Makhlouf, Bayne argued that expenditures for photo services are allowed.
Bayne also got Makhlouf to agree that Senate administrative rules give senators latitude and discretion when it comes to awarding contracts and hiring staff.
The Crown has alleged that Duffy gave $65,000 worth of contracts to a friend, who then made payments to others, including a personal trainer and a make-up artist.
The Crown also suggested Monday that Duffy paid $500 to a volunteer out of his Senate budget. Makhlouf said volunteers cannot be paid, but wasn’t able to point out a written rule in Senate documents.
PROBLEMATIC RULES
Bayne also noted that a 2010 Senate committee report on internal audits found 12 documents for the processing and administration of office expenditure. The report found that those policies could be confusing for senators and that “there is a risk of inconsistent application.”
Makhlouf agreed that senators could not be experts on the rules.
She also testified that, to her knowledge, there was no oversight of who did the work on contracts issued by senators until 2011. Those issues were left up to the senators’ discretion, she said.
She also said that many other senators provided brief descriptions of their service contracts, and there was nothing unusual about that.
With files from The Canadian Press
