John Oliver mocks Senate expenses scandal on Last Week Tonight

Comedian John Oliver turned his satirical gaze on Canada's senate scandal in the latest episode of Last Week Tonight.

During the late-night HBO show, Oliver played clips from Canadian news networks detailing Auditor General Michael Ferguson's highly anticipated report on the questionable spending by senators. The report identified just under $1 million in wrongful expense claims.

As far as Canadian scandals go, however, this was no Rob Ford-smoking-crack-while-in-office controversy. Oliver scoffed at the apparent banality of the list of expensed items.

• Auditor general cites lack of oversight for Senate spending mess
• Auditor general Michael Ferguson breaks down $23M cost of Senate audit
• Senator Nancy Ruth slams auditors over 'breakfast' claims

"This scandal couldn't be any more Canadian if public money was used to get Drake to drink maple syrup on Niagara Falls," the British comic said, as the Daily Show alumnus displayed an appropriately ridiculous photoshopped image of the hip-hop star doing exactly that.

It wasn't all Mounties and poutine jokes, though, as he also noted the discrepancy of an inquiry that found $1 million in improper expenses cost nearly $24 million to run.

"How the hell do you spend nearly $24 million auditing stamps and breakfasts?" he asked incredulously.

Oliver also mocked Senator Nancy Ruth's comments from April, when she complained about commercial airline breakfasts.

"Let this be a lesson to all politicians. It is hard to elicit any kind of public sympathy when you're uttering a sentence that includes the word 'camembert,'" he said.