Audit to expose House and Senate spending

Auditor General Michael Ferguson is poised to release performance audits of MP and Senate expenses.

Two years in the works, the goal of the audit as outlined by former AG Sheila Fraser was to determine "whether the House has sound management processes and key administrative systems and practices.”

So, as the Canadian Press is reporting, no MPs or senators will be named or shamed in the audit of $533 million in annual spending: "The audits didn’t even look at individual office management nor the merit of specific MP spending decisions."

The CBC points out that the reports will focus less on inappropriate expenses and more on the rules around that spending:

"I’ve heard people talking about a $4 cup of coffee," Fraser is quoted as saying at the start of the probe. "I’ve got, quite frankly, better things to do than look for $4 cups of coffee."