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Senator Mike Duffy: An Ever-Lengthening Trail of Conservative Corruption.
In 2006, Steven Harper promised a new era of accountability.
I'd like to hear Mr. Harper's definition of accountability, because mine definitely differs from his.
Tl;dr...
-Mike Duffy was appointed as a Conservative Senator in 2008.
-Senators primarily residing outside Ottawa may claim capital region living expenses.
-Mike Duffy's primary residence is located in Ottawa, where he's lived and worked for decades.
-Mike Duffy has a secondary residence on Prince Edward Island, a small and isolated cabin he seldom visits.
-Mike Duffy claimed his PEI cabin as a primary residence, and received compensation totaling $90,172.
-The Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy began investigating the expense claims, and requested health cards and other evidence of residency outside Ottawa.
-Subsequently, Duffy applied for a PEI health card and asked for the card to be fast tracked in time for the audit deadline.
-Steven Harper's Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright, wrote a personal cheque for $90,172 to Mike Duffy. A Conservative Party spokesman confirmed the money was a gift with no expectation of repayment.
-Mike Duffy proceeded to repay the $90,172 in improperly claimed expenses.
-Mike Duffy claimed additional expenses related to senate business for four dates, which records show he spent campaigning for the Conservative party.
-Mike Duffy refused to meet independent auditors or supply financial records, credit card statements, and information about his calendar related to the investigation, because he had repaid the debt.
-The Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada and the RCMP are investigating the "gift."
-Senator Mike Duffy resigned as a member of the Conservative caucus to become an independent, he continues to earn a salary of $132,000.
-Steven Harper has stated continued confidence in Nigel Wright, who continues to earn a salary between $117,300 and $177,000.
That's the core of the Mike Duffy story, which has been unfolding for several months. Another story is emerging, however, revealing the greater depth of his corruption.
"A well-placed source told CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife that Duffy approached a Conservative insider with connections to the CRTC three weeks ago to discuss Sun Media, which is asking the federal regulator to grant its news channel “mandatory carriage,” or guaranteed placement on basic cable and satellite packages.
“You know people at the CRTC,” the insider quoted Duffy as saying. “This is an important decision on Sun Media. They have to play with the team and support Sun Media’s request.” (quote from the second article).
Spoiler!
Quote:
OTTAWA—Embattled Senator Mike Duffy is out of the Conservative caucus after a controversy surrounding his living expenses blew up in a full-blown scandal for Stephen Harper’s government.
The once-treasured party fundraiser and bon vivant become a serious political liability this week after word leaked that Harper’s chief of staff, Nigel Wright, wrote a personal cheque for $90,000 to Duffy to cover repayment of improperly claimed living expenses.
But the Prime Minister’s Office appears to have been blindsided by Duffy’s claims that he had arranged his own loan with Royal Bank of Canada to cover the repayment.
“There are a growing number of questions about Mr. Duffy’s conduct that don’t have answers. Mr. Duffy will have to answer as an independent senator,” a government official said Thursday night.
Duffy’s claim that he had secured a bank loan was a complete surprise to senior government officials and appears to have sparked his departure from the Conservative caucus.
Senator Marjory LeBreton, the government house leader in the Senate, confirmed he was out of caucus.
“Senator Duffy has informed me that he has resigned from caucus to sit as an independent senator,” LeBreton said in a statement.
Duffy said in a statement the controversy around his repayment had become a “significant distraction to my caucus colleagues, and to the government.”
“Given that my presence within the Conservative caucus only contributes to that distraction, I have decided to step outside of the caucus and sit as an independent senator pending resolution of these questions,” Duffy said in a statement.
“Throughout this entire situation I have sought only to do the right thing. I look forward to all relevant facts being made clear in due course, at which point I am hopeful I will be able to rejoin the Conservative caucus,” he said.
He said he intends to take time out of the spotlight as questions are resolved through “appropriate processes.”
“This has been a difficult time for me and my family,” Duffy said.
Duffy was also facing questions whether he had claimed Senate expenses while campaigning for the Conservatives during the 2011 federal election.
Duffy claimed to be on Senate business in Ottawa — even charging taxpayers for some of his expenses — on days he was helping to boost the electoral fortunes of several Conservative candidates.
Candidates in British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, the Maritimes, Quebec and southern Ontario all benefited from appearances — from fundraisers and town halls to visiting a retirement home — by the high-profile former broadcaster during the campaign.
Two such events — meet-and-greets with Conservative MP Scott Armstrong in Truro and Amherst, N.S., on April 21 and with former cabinet minister Lawrence Cannon in Shawville, Que., on April 29 — appear to have taken place on days when Duffy claimed to be in Ottawa on Senate business.
Saying that he was in Ottawa enabled him to bill taxpayers for living expenses — including meals, incidentals and covering part of his mortgage — on those two days, a perk intended for senators whose primary residences are more than 100 kilometres away from Parliament Hill.
The living allowance and his $132,300 annual salary were not the only sources of compensation Duffy received, as Elections Canada records show the Armstrong campaign also gave him $409 for expenses.
“I think the pattern here, for these Conservative-appointed senators, is that they were put in place and then have been used as part of the political war machine and then taxpayers have to foot the bill,” New Democrat MP Charlie Angus said Thursday.
The discovery came after auditors from Deloitte tracked the movements of Duffy day by day, consulting his detailed mobile phone invoices, corporate credit card statements, financial travel calendar and other records to figure out exactly how much time he spent at his declared primary residence in Cavendish, P.E.I., during the period of review.
The examination led the Senate to conclude Duffy was never eligible for the expenses , which he reimbursed in March with the help of a friend in the PMO, but the calendar compiled by the auditors had the unintended consequence of revealing where Duffy claimed to be during most of the last federal election campaign, which ran from March 26 to May 2, 2011.
The summary of activities from Deloitte shows Duffy claimed to be in Ottawa on Senate business — and submitting expense claims — for a total of seven days in April 2011 while Parliament was dissolved and candidates were campaigning.
The questions over campaign activities and the fact that Duffy refused to co-operate with the auditors — eventually telling Deloitte through his lawyer that his participation was no longer necessary because he had paid the money back — has the opposition wondering if those two things are connected.
That Duffy apparently repaid the $90,172 in improperly claimed living expenses with the help of a personal cheque from Nigel Wright , the chief of staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, provided more fodder for conspiracy theories.
“It certainly has the appearance of a payment that was designed to prevent further examination and that, I think, would make Canadians very uncomfortable,” Liberal MP Ralph Goodale said earlier Thursday, before Duff left caucus.
“(It) does not pass the smell test.”
Duffy has contradicted claims Wright had anything do with repaying the improperly claimed living expenses.
On Tuesday, Duffy emailed CTV News to say he got a loan from the Royal Bank to help cover the expenses.
“I dealt with my bank personally. Nigel played no role,” Duffy told the television network.
The next day, the PMO said a personal cheque from Wright came as a gift with no expectations of being paid back.
Andrew MacDougall, director of communication for Harper, told the Star Thursday he stood by the statement.
Duffy did not respond to a request Thursday to explain the discrepancy.
There are six other days in April 2011 when Duffy claimed to be on Senate business outside of Ottawa, again while Parliament was dissolved and it remains unclear what official Senate business there was to do.
A search of newspaper and social media reports shows Duffy was campaigning with Conservative candidates on four of those days he claimed to be on Senate business outside Ottawa:
At Trent University with Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro on April 7.
Visiting the N.W.T. with Conservative candidate Sandy Lee on April 8
Campaigning with Conservative candidates Maureen Harquail, Gin Siow and MP Wladyslaw Lizon in the Greater Toronto Area on April 28.
Speaking to the Kootenay-Columbia Conservative association on April 5, The Canadian Press reported Thursday.
Elections Canada shows Duffy also received a total of $2,657 from 11 local Conservative campaigns to cover expenses associated with his appearances on the 2011 campaign trail.
A spokeswoman for Duffy told the Ottawa Citizen in December 2011 that the national campaign had covered his airfare, the local campaigns paid for his accommodations and nothing had come from his Senate budget.
A senior Conservative party official said Thursday the party was unaware Duffy had claimed Senate living expenses while engaging in partisan activity.
Quote:
Sen. Mike Duffy attempted to influence the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission’s upcoming decision involving the right-leaning Sun News Network, a source has told CTV News.
A well-placed source told CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife that Duffy approached a Conservative insider with connections to the CRTC three weeks ago to discuss Sun Media, which is asking the federal regulator to grant its news channel “mandatory carriage,” or guaranteed placement on basic cable and satellite packages.
The move would boost Sun News Network’s profile and revenues.
Senator Mike Duffy arrives on Parliament Hill for a meeting of the Senate Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 9, 2013. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Liberal MP Ralph Goodale speaks with CTV News from Regina, Thursday, May 16, 2013.
NDP MP Olivia Chow speaks with CTV News from Toronto, Thursday, May 16, 2013
“You know people at the CRTC,” the insider quoted Duffy as saying. “This is an important decision on Sun Media. They have to play with the team and support Sun Media’s request.”
Sen. Mike Duffy leaves Conservative caucus amid expense scandal
Liberal MP Ralph Goodale said Duffy’s comments were “tantamount to saying: ‘Let’s go have a private little visit with a judge.’”
“That is direct political interference with a quasi-judicial tribunal,” Goodale said.
If the CRTC approves Sun Media’s request, cable and satellite customers across Canada will be paying to have its news channel as part of their TV packages.
“Helping insider friends to get access to power -- this is just unacceptable,” NDP MP Olivia Chow said.
Duffy, who quit the Conservative caucus Thursday night over a growing scandal involving his expense claims, did not respond to CTV’s request for comment.
He was secluded in his Prince Edward Island cottage -- the home he improperly claimed as his primary residence, resulting in a $90,000 debt to the Senate for repayment of wrongly claimed taxpayer-funded living expenses.
Fife revealed this week that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff, Nigel Wright, made a secret deal with Duffy to help him repay the money.
Although Duffy denied Wright’s involvement and claimed in an email to CTV News that he’d taken out a bank loan, the PMO confirmed that Wright wrote a personal cheque for $90,000 to the senator.
Canada's ethics commissioner, Mary Dawson, has said that she will investigate Wright's cheque to Duffy.
Liberals had the sponsorship scandal...BC NDP had connections with a Casino license and Quebec municipal government just always seems to have back room deals.
The issue ISN'T the party. It should, but it isn't. It's a system that is never going to have that much insight and you are never going to find that many humans that will overlook their own interests.
The beauty is, we know about this stuff. It comes up. For little old Canada, we have a lot more of this on the news than the US, at 10x the population and 15x the government.
Liberals had the sponsorship scandal...BC NDP had connections with a Casino license and Quebec municipal government just always seems to have back room deals.
The issue ISN'T the party. It should, but it isn't. It's a system that is never going to have that much insight and you are never going to find that many humans that will overlook their own interests.
The beauty is, we know about this stuff. It comes up. For little old Canada, we have a lot more of this on the news than the US, at 10x the population and 15x the government.
Corruption in Canada isn't unique to the Federal Conservatives, but it certainly seems much more common, and the resistance to investigating it is far greater.
Granted, I was quite a bit younger under the Federal Liberals (currently mid-twenties), but I don't recall any significant corruption allegations beyond the Sponsorship Scandal. Paul Martin initiated the inquiry into the Sponsorship Scandal, of course, cooperated with it, and the findings weren't too significant.
Under the Federal Conservatives, corruption allegations have been constant, and we've seen the PM repeatedly push these serious concerns to the side. We've seen the Conservatives tied to corruption in Quebec, repeatedly; we've seen significant issues with Conservative campaign funding come to light; we've seen the Conservatives introduce the exact legislation requested by oil sands execs, immediately following the submission of the requests, no less; we've seen the Conservative robo-calls; we're now seeing Mike Duffy and Sun Media issues - and that's far from a comprehensive list.
As you've said, Grid, corruption happens because the system simply cannot sort out overly self-interested individuals. The system can, however, cooperate, investigate, and take these concerns seriously, instead of stonewalling and refusing to cooperate with committees, inquiries, and ombudsmen. Paul Martin's response to the Sponsorship Scandal was the former; Steven Harper's response to his slew of issues has been the later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by madeintaiwan
corruption exists in all governments
In some governments, corruption is essentially non-existent. In other governments, corruption is a fundamental component. Your point is too broad to actually mean anything.
Last edited by MindBomber; 05-17-2013 at 12:53 PM.
As the sponsorship scandal ended his government, ended his political career, removed the liberals from office, removed him from the liberals, and tainted his legacy, and ultimately put the conservatives in power and led to the implosion of the Liberal party...I don't think its hard for you to see that he wasn't jumping up and down himself to hold inquiries into the situation. And it was a matter of years between incident and resolution.
I'm not defending the Conservatives here. I tried them out for a vote after their stint in Minority rule and thought they could do well for Canada, but even I'm starting to feel uncomfortable with some of the back room shit that's going on.
What I'm really interested in is how the opposition aren't driving this. If you want to get your name in the papers, and be known as sticking up for the little guy...this is your chance.
So far, everyone is paying back money and walking away as a result of the government itself working as intended.
Very disappointed in Mulclair and Trudeau. **edit and of course Harper for not asking for resignations
The NDP Ethics Critic, Charles Angus, has requested the Senate Ethics Officer investigate the Wright-Duffy deal, requested Elections Canada investigate Duffy's activities during the last election, and urged the Conservatives to launch an independent investigation. In fact, Angus has been raising these issues in question period for months. I've seen further quotes from Angus is multiple news stories, as well as some from Olivia Chow and Ralph Goodale, so it's definitely an issue the opposition are pushing hard on.
In the end, that doesn't necessarily get names in papers, though.
Not to belittle your thread MindBomber but when our former defense minister comes out on record to expose a shadow elite bent on controlling the world, what does the media do? Report about a crack smoking mayor and petty scandals... people eat it up!
I'm sure most of the senators.. if not all, are guilty... they should just retire/quit NOW like this guy who probably realized he's in deep shiz.
Mac Harb is stepping down from the Senate, dropping his legal action and repaying tens of thousands of dollars more because of inappropriate living and travel expense claims, CBC News has learned.
Harb, who was a Liberal senator until his spending came under scrutiny through an external audit, has already paid back $51,482.90. He did so under protest and had asked the court for a judicial review of the order from the Senate to pay money back.
In a news release, Harb said he delivered a cheque to the chair of the Senate standing committee on internal economy for $180,166.17. That means he's repaid a total of $231,649.07.
Speaking to CBC News, Harb said he "is relieved after 28 years in public service to become a private citizen. The last couple of months have been very hard," he told the CBC's Hannah Thibedeau, adding that he is relieved to move forward.
Harb, who was the MP for Ottawa Centre for 15 years until he was appointed to the Senate in 2003, maxed out on his parliamentary pension in 2007.
In May, the Senate internal economy committee said Harb owed $51,000 in expenses claimed over the past two years. In June, Harb was sent a letter ordering him to pay that amount.
The Senate also advised Harb to repay more than $231,000 claimed since 2005 or face an extensive audit of his expense claims over that period.
His expenses were controversial because of his claim that a home near Pembroke, Ont., is his primary residence. Senators whose primary residence is at least 100 kilometres from Ottawa are permitted to charge living and travel expenses.
RCMP investigating expenses
The RCMP is looking into Harb's spending and in court documents filed earlier this summer, an investigator said he believes the senator really lives in Ottawa and should not have claimed the housing and travel expenses over the years.
Read: Senator Harb didn't live at 'primary' residence, RCMP say
Harb reiterated in his statement that the Senate internal economy committee treated him "very unfairly," and said he wanted "to make the point that every Canadian, even Senators, should be entitled to due process."
"I always followed Senate rules on expenses, and filed my expense claims in a timely and transparent manner. At no time did anyone suggest my claims were invalid or questionable. And from what I could tell, most Senators made similar claims."
Harb's lawyer, Paul Champ, said in a statement that the "Tory-dominated" Senate committee is to blame for retroactively applying "its own vague definition of residence, with criteria that are not set out in any Senate rules or policies."
"It’s sad, but my client became a casualty of the hyper partisan atmosphere that prevails in Ottawa right now," Champ said.
It's fucked up that the system is so broken that most of us just look at it and aren't shocked at all and then go on with our normal life. It's nice to see some of them get caught and have to repay but it's fucked it just keeps happening over and over, there aren't many honest ones out there.
That whole, "absolute power corrupts absolutely" thing going on. I don't think most of these politicians get in to try and fuck over the people they're representing but it's just to easy for them to screw the system over and most of there co-workers are doing the same thing so there moral compass gets thrown out of whack.
__________________
“The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place... and I don´t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently, if you let it. You, me or nobody, is gonna hit as hard as life. But ain't about how hard you hit... It's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward... how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That´s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you worth, go out and get what you worth.” - Rocky Balboa
awesome...but i wonder if this will eventually catch up to Harper.
Senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau will lose their security passes and access to their offices following their suspensions last night, Senate administration says.
The Senate voted yesterday to suspend the three for filing false expense claims.
While some details of how the suspensions will work are still being determined, others are already clear.
Senate administration issued a statement today regarding the three banished senators:
■Their security passes and government credit cards will be cancelled.
■Mobile phones will be deactivated.
■They will only be allowed into their offices if accompanied by a Senate security guard.
By Wednesday afternoon, the suspended senators' office phones were already cut off.
The three will keep their medical benefits and life insurance, but it's still unclear what happens to their pensions.
Senators are eligible for retirement benefits after six years in the upper chamber.
Claude Carignan, the government leader in the Senate, said the government is looking at whether it can legally keep the three senators from collecting.
"The intention of the motion, the spirit and the letter, it's to suspend without pay, without any benefits. It includes all benefits. Including pension plan," he said Wednesday.
Carignan said there hasn't been a case like this in more than a century, so the Senate is still working out what he calls technicalities.
But the Liberal leader in the Senate, James Cowan, said it looks to him as if the government is making things up as it goes along.
"I would have thought somebody at some point would have figured out those questions. But it's not my job to do that. It's their motions," Cowan said.
The Senators don't much matter. It's Harper and the conspiracy to shut this down that's the most serious issue, and it's catching up to him more and more every time he opens his mouth. Harper should appoint Rob Ford for smoking crack, because that's saving the conservatives by take the limelight off them.
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