Popular HBO comedian John Oliver mocked Canada's senate spending scandal, though not over the usual suspects. Broadly describing Canada as "five hockey rinks surrounded by bears," Oliver poked fun at senators for allegedly overspending taxpayer dollars on distinctly Canadian activities, like "golfing and fishing trips" and purchasing "hockey tickets."
"This scandal could not be any more Canadian if public money was used to get Drake to drink maple syrup on Niagara falls," Oliver observed.
He wondered how one Liberal senator could claim over $5,000 to attend a funeral, and said it was a "ludicrous amount" to be spending to attend one — unless it was a "three-day destination burial in Barbados."
But surprisingly, suspended Senator Mike Duffy — whose questionable spending and repayment by then-Prime Minister Harper Chief of Staff Nigel Wright — came up nowhere in Oliver's video. Instead, the biggest joke was saved for the auditors themselves, who racked up a nearly $24 million bill to find only $1 million in questionable expenses.
"How the hell do you spend nearly $24 million auditing stamps and breakfasts? Canada, I think you've forgotten what a scandal is," Oliver joked. "And may I remind you that Rob Ford, your crack-smoking mayor, is still currently sitting on the Toronto city council?"
Oliver ridiculed Conservative senator Nancy Ruth, who justified paying extra for an upscale breakfast on an airplane rather than settling for the complimentary meal offered on the flight. The senator, who described herself as a "feminist activist" to reporters at the time, said:
"Well, those breakfasts are pretty awful. If you want ice cold Camembert with broken (pause) crackers...."
Oliver ridiculed her excuse, saying that any sentence with the French-made Camembert cheese makes it hard for ordinary people to sympathize with her plight.
See the video below:
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