CTVNews.ca said last night that "The Canadian Constitution requires all senators to reside in the province which they represent." Reside is 183 days.
"Conservative Senator Mike Duffy, who must prove that his main residence is in Prince Edward Island, was not on the voters’ list in that province in 2011, records show." The story goes on to tell that "Duffy did cast a ballot in the Ontario provincial election that year..." Also, and this is kind of where Mr., er, Senator Duffy's logic/greed falls apart, "Property tax records also show that Duffy and his wife are considered non-resident owners of their home in P.E.I. and must pay higher taxes as a result, according to a report in The Guardian, a Charlottetown-based newspaper."
When the esteemed [lol] journalist [lol] was named to the Senate I posited in this very same blog that our beloved Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, put the blowhard in the Senate not to be effective but to illustrate how ineffective the Red Chamber and many of its peeps are.
Mission accomplished.
Senator Duffy is the ultimate answer to the question "Why do we need an elected Senate?" We need an elected Senate so we can toss stronzo's like him out on their keisters come election day.
WFDS
Well it seems the f*cker is at least not screwing the taxpayers of PEI out of the taxes he owes on his cottage. I stand corrected.
ReplyDeleteStill he has to be a world class moron not to have sorted this out --- it is not like we have secret police checking out where you live. You need at most a neighbour or house sitter who will forward your mail to be a "resident" of anywhere in the country. I have heard of more sophisticated welfare scammers than this clown. But I guess that is the point, he is scamming the system, like a welfare cheat, and I am sure he is more than willing to condemn them, but he thinks that because he is who he is (what ever the f*ck that means) the rules don't apply to him.
Actually it's not that clear cut. Duffy voted in the last Ontario election, for example. Yet it turns out that the residency requirement in Ontario is really vague and a person could, theoretically, be primarily resident here in B.C. but also a resident for Ontario eligibility requirements.
ReplyDeleteWhat will be most revealing will be his provincial income tax returns. I'm pretty sure he's been filing Ontario returns for the past 40-years since he was first hired on by CFRA.
There is a real question whether Duffy was eligible for a senate appointment representing PEI. If not, can the error be rectified after the fact? What of the housing allowance and benefits he's been claiming since his appointment? What of the salary, pension benefits and perks he's received while ineligible? And there is some suggestion that senators are required to swear an oath confirming their residence. Did he perjure himself?
These are all open questions that, at some point, will have to be answered.