Working in Montréal today --Keep your receipts

Good morning folks,

I will be working in Montréal today and will not be working tomorrow.  Friday will see me head off to Calgary to see some family and participate is a family event.  Distributel accounting staff will not see any travel or accommodation expenses for tomorrow's trip.  I do not find it confusing.

This is a cheap and easy way to fill the Pulp this morning.

Quick follow up on Pamela Wallin and her creative bookkeeping, or is that pronounced bookcooking?  Seems Wallins calendars were altered prior to turning them over to the auditors, some 400 changes.  Now Wallin claims that they were merely 'formatted' to show the relevant items to the auditors, but I ask you, does altering items like adding an awards dinner that she did not attend and deleting a flight that would prove that she was not there constitute formatting?

The auditing firm, Deloitte, has identified some $120,000 in 'expenses' that have been identified as non Senate related, and a further $20,000 in questionable items. What does that mean?  It means that the Canadian taxpayers were bilked out of these funds that were used to pay for Wallin's activities related to her free enterprise activity, or her personal activity.  I will save you trying to figure out what crime that is.  It is fraud over (well over) $5000. It is embezzlement of public funds, it is a series of indictable offenses.  It is also a contravention of the senate act.  Pamela, you need a team of lawyers, but please don't submit expenses for them.

Wallin has issued the statement not unlike, "it's not fair, there are so many numbers and its so confusing.."  

I would be much more sympathetic if the auditors found that she had missed expenses, but no.  Why is it that whenever someone claims simple errors that the errors always seem to favour them?  One last tidbit, the audit cost taxpayers in the neighborhood of $128,000.  aw crap.  Like I said before, the Senate should have its own full time audit staff.

Have a great day, keep your receipts.