An independent audit has backed the claims of David Dingwall, who said there was nothing improper in his office spending during his tenure as the president and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.
Dingwall stepped down in September after an Access to Information request revealed he and his top aides racked up expenses of more than $740,000 last year. Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers found the expenses fell within the guidelines, but it added that judging those guidelines wasn't part of its mandate.
"Well, I think it exonerates me completely," Dingwall told the CBC News program Politics after the report's release on Wednesday.
"I'm delighted and thrilled that the independent audit review, they've exonerated me."
Appearing before a government operations committee last week, Dingwall, who was a cabinet minister under Jean Chrétien, fiercely defended his expenses. He said the "vast majority" of the money was spent not on travel nor hospitality but on administrative costs directly related to the business of the president and his office.
