Senator Charged With Fraud Continues to Collect Salary, Charge Expenses

Senator Raymond Lavigne has cost Canadian taxpayers $700,000 since the RCMP charged him with fraud in 2007.

You just can’t keep a working man down. Despite being barred from the Senate chamber since 2007, Lavigne continues to charge taxpayers $10,000 a month in travel, office and hospitality expenses, on top of his $133,000 yearly salary. What work is he performing for this hefty paycheque? His website has numerous pictures showing him opening up a local IGA store and lists “meeting with some of the best-known Québec artists” as part of his public duties. Lavigne, a Liberal senator, is charged with fraud, breach of trust, and misuse of Senate funds, but his case is presently before the courts and so he is still presumed innocent. A recent independent audit found there are virtually no controls on Senators’ spending.