A three-member panel in the Senate will investigate Sen. Patrick Brazeau’s use of a $20,000 housing allowance, received when he claimed his father’s house in Maniwaki, Que., is his primary residence.

Senators are given the housing allowance when their primary residence is more than 100 kilometres from the capital. Maniwaki is 130 kilometres away.

Brazeau also shares a rented home with his girlfriend in Gatineau, just across the river from Ottawa.

The panel’s members are:

  • Conservative Sen. Elizabeth Marshall, a former auditor general of Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Liberal Larry Campbell, a former B.C. chief coroner and mayor of Vancouver
  • Conservative Gerald Comeau, a former MP under the Brian Mulroney government

In a written statement, Brazeau said he is confident he will be swiftly cleared by the panel.