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MPs' expenses: Should the auditor general have a look?

house-of-commons-cp-8415687.jpgThe House  of Commons  is seen Thursday, September 10, 2009 in Ottawa.(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Parliament's all-party management board has slammed the door on Auditor General Sheila Fraser's request to examine MPs' expenses.

The Board of Internal Economy issued a rare news release stating the proposed audit "would go beyond the scope of the auditor general's mandate."

Fraser -- best known to Canadians as the bean counter who blew the lid off the Liberal sponsorship scandal in 2004 -- asked almost a full year ago if her office could conduct a "performance audit" on $533 million of annual spending by both the House of Commons and Senate.

Recent examinations of politicians' spending habits in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Britain have exposed some sensational examples of waste and greed.

Fraser has maintained she is not on a "witchhunt" and her audits are "there to help improve management processes."

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