The senator accused of having an office staffer cut down trees on his cottage property has been kicked out of the Liberal caucus and will soon face a RCMP investigation.

"It is inappropriate for Senator Lavigne to sit with the Liberal caucus until any investigations have been completed," interim Liberal Leader Bill Graham said in a statement.

A Senate committee report that includes the recommendation for further RCMP investigation into Senator Raymond Lavigne's alleged misuse of office resources was tabled Thursday afternoon in the Senate.

"Senators are not supposed to use Senate fund or personnel for personal reasons," CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife told CTV Newsnet.

The 40-page report took one year to compile, and cost $80,000 in legal fees, Fife said.

Earlier in the day, Fife reported that Lavigne had agreed to repay more than $23,000 in funds he allegedly spent improperly on travel.

"The Senate Internal Economy Committee, which has been meeting this morning, and people within the committee tell me that, in fact, this Liberal senator is going to repay $23,500 which the committee felt that he had improperly spent on travel, largely travel between here and Montreal," Fife said.

The Senate subcommittee has been investigating Lavigne's spending record in recent months, and alleges he even had his executive assistant do work that was completely unrelated to his official duties.

"They've rapped his knuckles for misusing Senate funds for when he had his executive assistant, who was on the Senate payroll, go to his cottage and cut down trees," Fife said.

"That actually infuriated the neighbours because his executive assistant cut down trees on someone else's property."

The internal investigation was sparked by complaints from Lavigne's neighbour.

"I found his executive assistant Mr. Daniel Cote cutting down about six large trees and another 15 small trees," claimed Neil Faulkner, who lives beside Lavigne's Wakefield, Que. estate.

The two properties are nestled next to the Gatineau River.

Faulkner said relations with his neighbouring senator were peaceful, until he came home one day to the harsh sounds of chainsaws.

According to Faulkner, some of the trees cut down were allegedly on his property. He sued Lavigne, and then took the further step of filing a complaint with the Senate.

"I felt it was a fair question to ask the Senate: was this man on the Senate payroll?" said Faulkner.

Last year, the Senate Committee on Internal Economy responded by creating a special subcommittee to investigate how Lavigne managed his office resources.

The probe into Lavigne's spending habits has cost the Senate thousands of dollars, and some senators say his punishment hasn't gone far enough to address the seriousness of his infractions, Fife said.

"They feel that perhaps Senator Lavigne should also be paying about $80,000 in legal fees racked up by the Senate Internal Economy, that they have spent over the past year investigating him," Fife said.

There has been no word whether that will be the case, however.