As we continue to sort through the entrails of the RCMP affidavit on the ClusterDuff investigation, Kady O’Malley tries to make more sense of just what kind of information that Senator Irving Gerstein was trying to get from Deloitte about the status of the audits. Despite those early assertions that Nigel Wright was a great friend of Mike Duffy, which was why he helped him out, those RCMP documents show that there was no love lost between Wright and Duffy, and that Wright was beyond frustrated with Duffy and had reached the limits of his patience and was ready to simply communicate with Duffy lawyer-to-lawyer. I still remain somewhat suspicious that the Wright’s motivation to repay Duffy’s expenses was simply “noblesse oblige,” and that there may have been some other reason that we remain unaware of. The PMO, meanwhile, continues to sideline Wright and is intimating that he gave misleading information in one of the memos that was turned over to the RCMP. Here are a few more interesting tidbits about Wright that are revealed from the documents. Rosemary Barton talks to former Commons law clerk Rob Walsh about the possible charges, and what is likely to stick and what won’t. Glen McGregor looks at the curious way in which the RCMP investigator took the extraordinary steps of releasing the ITO to the public. Stephen Maher has a look at Senator Gerstein, Canada’s single best political fundraiser. John Ivison looks at the damage to Harper’s brand that the ClusterDuff affair is doing, the effect it’s having in the Brandon-Souris by-election, and the fact that there is talk now in the party of replacing him if things continue. Andrew Coyne tries to ascertain just what it is that Mike Duffy was doing as he continually changed his demands every time they came to some kind of agreement.
Author Archives: Dale
Roundup: Fallout from the ITO
In the aftershocks of yesterday’s revelations in the ClusterDuff affair, everyone is still sorting through the pieces, trying to make sense of it all. Kady O’Malley digs into that ITO and finds three particular dangling threads in the documents that are begging for answers (and you really should read this). Aaron Wherry looks into those documents and finds the voice of sanity, Chris Montgomery – one of Marjory LeBreton’s staffers (apparently paid for out of the PCO budget, which seems to be the source of confusion for people who have said that he’s from PCO) who objected to the process and the interference of the PMO in the Senate’s operations. CBC has their own look at Montgomery in this video piece (with text from The Canadian Press). Senators on both sides of the aisle are reeling from the revelations that PMO was trying to pull the strings of the Duffy audit, because they feel strongly about the chamber’s independence – as well they should. That PMO thought that they could get away with it speaks to the level of control that this government is trying to impose on parliament as a whole, and which parliamentarians themselves should be resisting – as clearly a few in the Senate were, much to the PMO’s frustration. The RCMP are questioning the credibility of Senators LeBreton, Tkachuk and Stewart-Olsen based on their interviews with them, and the quality of that testimony. The auditors from Deloitte are going to be hauled before the Internal Economy committee in order to answer pointed questions about the independence of that audit given the revelations that Senator Gerstein was trying to influence it, though Deloitte has come out to say that there was an ethical wall around those auditors to protect their information from any leaks. As part of that revelation, Charlie Angus is casting aspersions that some of Deloitte’s other work may be politically influenced, like the audit of Attawapiskat’s books (though I’ve heard from my own contacts at Aboriginal Affairs that there are definite governance problems in that reserve). The Law Society of BC is also considering an investigation into the conduct of Benjamin Perrin, the former PMO lawyer who is also implicated in this affair.
QP: More ClusterDuff questions, more Paul Calandra obfuscation
With Stephen Harper off making an announcement in Lac Mégantic, we were guaranteed that it was going to be yet another episode of the Paul Calandra Show for QP today. Would he bring up his father’s pizza parlour? Would there be a homily about the lessons he teaches his daughters. Add to that, the only leader in the House was Thomas Mulcair, which promised to make for a rather lopsided day. When QP started, Mulcair returned to his former mode of solilioqusing, and wondered lengthily about why the Prime Minister couldn’t take responsibility. Paul Calandra got up and praised the leadership the Prime Minister showed in his conduct, and that the documents showed that he didn’t know. Mulcair brought up statements regarding the Prime Minister approving actions, thus implicating him in a cover-up. Calandra offered much the same in response. Mulcair then wondered why a senator would require the PM’s approval to repay his own expenses, but Calandra responded with the allegation that Mulcair sat on a bribery allegation for seventeen years. Mulcair wondered why nobody else lost their jobs if they were involved, but Calandra reiterated the alleged bribe story. Mulcair’s final question got cut off for unparliamentary language, and the Speaker moved on. Ralph Goodale was up for the Liberals, and asked about the “good to go” statement. Calandra shrugged it off and carried on battering at Mulcair. Goodale brought up the sentiments of this affair in the riding of Brandon in his follow-up, which gave Calandra an opening to batter the Liberals about a panoply of their ills. For his final question, Goodale brought up the interference in a Senate committee proceeding, but Calandra decided that returning to the days of the Sponsorship scandal was the way to go.
Roundup: Possible charges against Wright
And with the likelihood that charges will be laid against Nigel Wright, the ClusterDuff exploded all over again yesterday, as an 81-page court affidavit from the RCMP investigator was made public. There are some fairly shocking revelations in there – things like how Wright was in communication with Senator Irving Gerstein as Gerstein made back channel contacts with a partner at Deloitte to inquire about the progress of the Duffy audit and how the repayment would affect it – and that such partner is a top Conservative donor, and that the firm also audit’s the party’s finances. Or that the Prime Minister was told “in broad terms” that Wright was helping Duffy out with the repayment – though it also says clearly that Harper was not told the particulars. That Gerstein considered using party funds to repay Duffy when they thought it was a $32,000 price tag. That there are a number of problems with Duffy’s various speeches in the Senate where he painted himself as some kind of unwitting victim. And that there was a heavy PMO hand in the attempt to change the audits, though there was pushback (including from one of LeBreton’s staffers, Chris Montgomery), and frustration on Wright’s part because the Senate was not responding as they would like when it came to the management of the crisis. Why, it’s terrible that Wright and the PMO were confronted by the notion that the Senate is an independent chamber of parliament that is institutionally independent from their control. The horror! There was even apparently an incident where the Senate clerk had to have words with Senator Carolyn Stewart-Olsen about her partisan behaviour on the steering subcommittee of the Internal Economy Committee. (Mark Kennedy has some highlights here.)
QP: The only two individuals in question
Some two hours before QP got underway, the news hit the wires — that Nigel Wright was being charged by the RCMP for breach of trust, and a raft of documents was released that showed just how much Wright and the PMO were trying to stage-manage things in the Senate. Add to that, all of the major party leaders were in the House, so it was going to be an explosive day. When QP began, Thomas Mulcair started by asking if Harper wanted to change any of the testimony that he had given on the ClusterDuff scandal so far. Harper responded that he had been clear, and the charges showed that it was indeed Duffy and Wright were the individuals involved. Mulcair pointed to the documents that Harper was aware of the payment, but Harper insisted that he only knew that Duffy said that he was going to repay the expenses but didn’t know the details. Mulcair wondered what Harper had approved, but Harper read from the same documents to show that he wasn’t informed. Mulcair wondered what “good to go” referred to in the documents, but Harper reiterated that he thought that Duffy was going to repay his own expenses. Mulcair closed his first round by asking about the statement that he wasn’t aware when the documents showed that Wright went to him for approval. Harper continued to repeat the line that he only knew that Duffy agreed to repay his expenses. Trudeau was up next, and wondered if the Prime Minister still believed that he had no responsibility for the corruption in his own office. Harper insisted that the documents proved it was limited to the two individuals. Trudeau reiterated his call that the Prime Minister testify under oath, but Harper repeated the same line. Trudeau invoked Brent Rathgeber’s statement that the party had become what they once mocked — to which Rathgeber shrugged — and demanded Harper tell the truth. Harper responded that it was Liberal senators who voted not to punish those embattled senators, and threw in a China dig in there as well.
Roundup: The AG wants MP oversight
The Auditor General says that there needs to be an independent, non-partisan body to deal with MPs expenses in order for Canadians to be confident that they are being managed. The NDP immediately point out that this is what they have been looking for since the issue of Senate expenses exploded into the public consciousness. I would say that it’s too bad that we are reaching a place where we can no longer treat MPs like grown-ups, and that we need yet more mechanisms to police them.
QP: A few lengthy detours
With the Rob Ford sideshow slowing down enough so as not to consume the news cycle whole, and with the leaders back in the House today, it was setting up to be a much more lively QP than yesterday’s rather sedate hour. Thomas Mulcair started off with giving the Prime Minister a chance to address the relief efforts for the typhoon in the Philippines, which Harper dutifully did to much applause. Mulcair then moved onto asking if Harper had any regrets of his role in the ClusterDuff affair. Harper rejected the premise of the question, and said that he was disappointed with Wright and Duffy when he found out. Mulcair asked which members of Harper’s staff have been questioned by the RCMP, even offering up names that have been mentioned. Harper insisted that this was all Wright’s responsibility, and both he and Duffy have been sanctioned. Justin Trudeau started his round off by congratulating the government for its typhoon response, and asked if they would extend the deadline for matching donations and visas for students and foreign workers in Canada. Harper said that moving forward, they would extend the needed flexibility as need be. Trudeau moved onto the topic of judicial obstruction by the Conservative staffers, some of whom are now in the PMO, and wondered why there were delays in the false robocall investigations. Harper hit back by pointing out that Trudeau’s lack of support for mandatory minimums meant that he didn’t believe in accountability in the justice system.
Roundup: Unnecessary supplemental estimates?
The Parliamentary Budget Officer wonders why the government is looking for $5.4 billion in the supplementary estimates tabled yesterday, considering that they underspent $10 billion for each of the past three year. It’s another example of the lack of transparency that his government engages in when reporting to the House its fiscal responsibilities. And hey, maybe MPs should be scrutinising these estimates and asking questions, rather than the PBO doing their homework for them – once again. But math is hard, and so on.
The problem with consultative elections
The romance over consultative elections have been at the heart of the Senate reference before the Supreme Court that we heard last week, but not to be outdone, the five alarm gong show known as Democracy Watch decided to raise the stakes, and propose that vice-regal consultative elections could be held, and that there would be no need to amend the constitution in order to achieve it.
No. Just no.
QP: Paul Calandra, once again
With the Rob Ford sideshow still sucking the oxygen out of the news cycle, and none of the leaders in the House, it was either going to be a quiet QP, or an utter gong show — rarely is it anything in between when the leaders are away. Megan Leslie stated off by asking a question about the relief efforts to the Philippines after the typhoon. Chrisitian Paradis stood up to laud the efforts of the DART, and that the government commitments to relief stand at nearly $40 million. Nycole Turmel was up next, and asked about the expedited immigration for those affected. Costas Menegakis reiterated some of the measures that the government was taking. Turmel and Leslie then returned to the issue of ClusterDuff timelines, but Paul Calandra responded with the usual lines about how the Prime Minister was unaware of what happened. For her final question, Leslie asked about the revelations about Michael Sona being in Aruba when he allegedly bragged about the robocall scheme — which isn’t actually government business — and Calandra didn’t really give an answer in any case. For the Liberals, Ralph Goodale returned to the topics of the staffers in the PMO involved in the ClusterDuff affair, but Paul Calandra told him to repeat the allegations outside of the Chamber. For the final question, Marc Garneau asked about a February 20th email that directed some PMO staff to assist Senator Duffy, and why were they still employed? Calandra insisted that the PM was clear that he wouldn’t have stood for these actions.