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Lang cleared in Senate audit

Yukon Senator Dan Lang has been spared any reference to himself in the auditor general's report on the expenses of the Red Chamber's members.

Yukon Senator Dan Lang has been spared any reference to himself in the auditor general’s report on the expenses of the Red Chamber’s members.

Lang was audited along with all the other senators, but none of his expenses were flagged.

“At the end of the day he was satisfied with the financial management of my office and that we met all the audit ... objectives that he had set out,” he said.

Due to Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s report, the Senate referred the cases of nine senators to the RCMP, and called on 21 other current and retired senators to reimburse expenses that allegedly broke the rules.

Lang said his office has been working with the auditors for the last two years. Everyone involved signed a confidentiality agreement with the auditor general, meaning they couldn’t talk about what was happening until now, he said.

In 2013 Ferguson began the audit, following multiple spending scandals, including that of Senator Mike Duffy, who is now on trial for 31 counts, including bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Lang’s name has come up at that trial. In the summer of 2009, Duffy came to a Whitehorse fundraiser.

The event raised $3,000 for the Whitehorse food bank, Conservative activist Michael Lauer, told the trial.

Duffy also spoke to the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce.

It cost taxpayers $8,567 for flights to Whitehorse from Kamloops, B.C., and back home for him and his wife, per diems and hotels, the trial heard.

Lang said he doesn’t regret inviting Duffy to Whitehorse. People wanted to hear what Duffy had to say, Lang said.

“It was a very productive weekend, day and a half, and so from that perspective I’ve got to say that from where I stand I thought he did a good job on behalf of Yukon and the Senate.