Trust us, it’s only $533 million a year and we’re responsible representatives that need that money in order to help recognize and understand your needs as constituents.

The collective push back from MPs and senators to have their annual expenses audited was summed up in the face of Jay Hill yesterday as he and Sheila Fraser, the auditor general, approached a press conference in Ottawa. Almost as notable as Jay Hill’s expression was the distance he (physically) kept from Fraser as though she had something contagious to pass on. The only sickness in the air of the hill is one surrounding this issue of expenses and audits.

In the end Fraser won the contest to have a proper audit done on the MP and Senators expenses. She doesn’t seemed thrilled to finally get the opportunity to do what she’s been asking to do for weeks now, primarily because she’s an accountant and never looks thrilled and she knows, as do the majority of the Canadian taxpayers, what is about to be found.

Piggish style spending. Unnecessary items and services. Completely un-related to the responsibilities of an MP or Senator.

After just completing a playoff hockey pool, we’re in the mood for another one, more aligned to our wonk tendencies this time. Anybody in for a pool on which MPs and Senators are the most offending after the audit? Total post-audit bill (cumulative) for your five individual picks wins. Let us know.

When you hear about current parliamentary bills lately it’s usually about copyright or pardon issues that have dominated the 6 o’clock news. While browsing the current tabled bills today we noticed one that seemed to slip under our wonk-dar and seems to have some potentially deep undercurrents.

Bill C-19 had it’s first reading on April 28th, 2010 and if passed will place limits on the amounts and conditions to political party loans from individuals and banks.

Political loans? Yes, parties depend on donations only to some degree, loans pick up the slack that donations leave behind. The bill in summary states that:

This enactment amends the Canada Elections Act to enact rules concerning loans, guarantees and suretyships with respect to registered parties, registered associations, candidates, leadership contestants and nomination contestants.

The rules they mention are the interesting part, they state that:

• No individual is allowed to make a loan to a political party greater than their already established donation limits
• No representative of a political party is allowed to borrow on behalf of the party aside from the registered agent

Reading further the interesting part states:

No person, other than a leadership campaign agent of a leadership contestant, shall accept contributions to the contestant’s leadership campaign or borrow money on the contestant’s behalf under section 405.5.

This means that only the registered campaign agent has the right to accept or borrow money on the leadership contestant’s behalf. We started to think about the why behind this statement and quickly remembered that this is a possible response to how the Liberals ran their last leadership campaign financials.

During the last Liberal Leadership campaign an estimated $1.12 million was owed from leadership candidates. Their deadline to pay the indidvual amounts is coming up on December 31, 2011. If the amounts are not paid back before then they will be looked upon as donations for 100% of the money, whether or not it was a loan.

We’ll continue to watch Bill C19.

After a year of activities that have diluted our wonkiness, we’re back.

What’s changed? Lots. Great ready Ottawa as we get on wonk on (again).