The Senate was designed to be a house of sober second thought, which is why it's disquieting to find senators who seem inebriated with entitlement.
It took former Conservative senator and former journalist Pamela Wallin less than three years to rack up $350,000 in travel expenses.
Less than one-tenth of that sum was spent on trips between Ottawa and her home province of Saskatchewan, where she spends about half her time.
In what seemed an act of contrition, Wallin then wrote something worth reading: cheques to pay back about $150,000.
And in a recent radio interview, she expressed regret, but not the kind you'd expect.
Wallin regretted paying all that money back.
If she had to do it over again, maybe she'd pay back a little, but certainly not so much. Wallin blamed "retroactively imposed rules" for the scandal.
She also offered a classic, passive-voice admission, allowing, "mistakes were made."
It's important to stress Wallin has not been charged with any
crimes. However, the idea her behaviour is lawful makes it even more disturbing.
There is no rational explanation for a public servant who is not James Bond to spend more than double the average Canadian's yearly salary on travel.
Earlier this month, a North Vancouver fraudster who bilked B.C.'s welfare system out of $17,000 was given six months of house arrest and ordered to pay back almost every dollar he took.
Unlike Wallin, he did not get to keep his health and dental benefits.
