A third Conservative senator refunds expenses but Senate says no rules broken

OTTAWA – Another Conservative senator is refunding expenses following an examination of residency claims.

The Senate’s internal economy committee has issued a terse notice that Sen. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu has repaid an undisclosed amount that, according to the notice, was “mistakenly claimed.”

Boisvenu is the third Conservative senator to have reportedly paid back improper expense claims in recent weeks, following the lead of Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin.

The Senate committee statement says “no rules were broken” by Boisvenu and that his residency and expense claims are in order.

Boisvenu was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in January 2010 as an advocate for victims’ rights.

He was recently outed in news reports for having a romantic relationship with his executive assistant, an apparent violation of parliamentary staffing rules.