New Senate Speaker Leo Housakos wants to increase transparency and accountability

Newly appointed Senate Speaker Leo Housakos says he wants to be remembered for increasing transparency and accountability of the institution.

Thestar.com
May 5, 2015
By Joanna Smith

Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos, appointed Speaker of the Senate Monday following the April 23 death of Pierre Claude Nolin, says he wants to be remembered for making the scandal-plagued institution as transparent and accountable as possible.

He spoke to the Star Tuesday about how he plans to deal with the upcoming audit into Senate expenses, his views on partisanship, all those empty seats and what the institution has learned from its uncomfortable time in the spotlight.

Q: Pierre Claude Nolin, the late Senate Speaker, said the number of vacancies was affecting the proper functioning of the Senate, particularly when it comes to achieving balance between regions of Canada. What is your view?

A: “There are 20 vacancies right now. The work piles on the senators (who) are active in the chamber. I think the work is still being done. It’s being done in an effective and efficient manner. Certainly, in some provinces right now are probably somewhat underrepresented constitutionally ... I think in terms of regional fairness it’s something that in due course the prime minister would have to consider ... I do think at some point when we fall below certain numbers it will be cumbersome to be able to function. I don’t think we’re quite there yet.”

Q: What is your view of partisanship in the Senate?

A: “Unlike many, I don’t consider partisanship an evil word. ... Political discourse and the exchange of ideas and views are fundamental for a healthy democracy to function in an appropriate fashion. So, I believe if anything, those that are not partisan, to me, are equivalent of not having a strong view on issues that are important to the country.”

Q: Last week, the Senate standing committee on internal economy, budgets and administration put into place a process that would allow senators who take issue with any orders to reimburse expenses that result from the report of the auditor general to plead their case to an independent arbitrator. What will the public learn about this process and any repaid expenses?

A: “You have my firm commitment that there will be full disclosure of who goes to arbitration and what the end result will be ... If there are senators that are unwilling to go through that independent, transparent process, then internal economy will just ask them to pay the amount and will side on the side of the auditor general’s report rather than questioning it.”

Q: What if a senator decides to reimburse the expenses without going through arbitration? How would the public find out?

A: “I think it’s pretty accountable through the public accounts (published annually). You will have clearly the amount the auditor general deems that (is) not admissible, so that will be made public, and if a senator chooses to reimburse that amount, you will be able to connect two and two ... Do I have to take out (an) ad to basically say I repaid $5.75 because (a) bottle of water wasn’t admissible? It becomes a bit cumbersome ... We also have to be careful when the cost of administrating the administration just gets out of whack.”

Q: There are reports that as many as 10 of the 117 senators whose expenses are being examined by the auditor general have serious problems with their claims. What would be the threshold for referring cases to the RCMP?

A: “If there are any findings of illegal and inappropriate behaviour on the part of members of this institution, we will be as harsh in dealing with those cases as we have been in the past and this institution has not shied away from being harsh when it comes to dealing with impropriety.”

Q: What has the Senate learned from this mess?

A: “We have to tighten up the rules. We have to tighten up procedures. We have to tighten up administration and we have to be a little bit more rigid and uniform in some of our policies.”