Angry in the Great White North

The charges laid against Liberal Senator Raymond Lavigne are already turning out to be an embarrassment for the Liberal Party. Note that the charges fraud, breach of trust and obstruction of justice have not been proven in court. Lavigne has been suspended from his Senate duties and tossed out of the Liberal caucus. But as the charges have not been proven, he continues to draw his salary.

Having said that, his Senate colleagues seem not to be in the mood to give Raymond Lavigne the benefit of the doubt on anything he says. And that is shaping up to be acutely embarrassing for the Liberal Party.

Recently Raymond Lavigne claimed to have undergone surgery for hemorrhoids. The Senate decided to look into the matter...literally:

Mr. Lavigne has recently been on medical leave, but senators asked to hire a doctor to check whether he actually underwent hemorrhoid surgery.

Mr. Lavigne condemned his peers for questioning his right to sick pay.

"Do you think this is a reasonable way to treat a senator? Next time it could be you," Mr. Lavigne said in a letter to senators.

I wonder if he penned that letter while the Senate's doctor was snapping on the rubber glove.

Lavigne has a point though. The next time a senator, an appointed office not responsible to the voter, is charged with defrauding the taxpayer of thousands and thousands of dollars, and is also charged with recruiting others to lie on his behalf (the obstruction charge is based on the allegation that Lavigne asked his employees to lie before and during the Senate investigation), then that senator too might find himself in a very uncomfortable position.

I don't see anything wrong with that. It is a perfectly reasonable way to treat a senator under the circumstances.

Indeed, this might be one of the most in-depth investigations into the darkest recesses of Liberal Party malfeasance this country will ever be witness to.

OK, that last bit was cheeky. Sorry about that.

Now it is true that this twice elected Liberal backbencher who never rose to even a junior cabinet position was awarded the privilege of being a senator so that Jean Chretien would have a seat for Liz Frulla to run in has paid back the money he allegedly stole, a total of $23,000.

On the other hand, Lavigne is also demanding that the Senate (that is, the taxpayer) then pay for his legal bills, a total of $90,000.

Now that's cheeky.

Is it no wonder that Stephane Dion doesn't want to wade too deeply into the Lavigne matter?

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion offered a terse response Tuesday to the news that charges had been laid, noting only that Lavigne is no longer a Liberal and observing that he'll leave the matter to the courts from here on.

Well, I guess Raymond Lavigne isn't going to get any moral support from his former friends and colleagues in the Liberal Party.

I suppose that makes it the second time Lavigne got it up the rear.