Nothing too explosive in the Duffy trial yesterday, but more those emails from Monday are certainly creating a bit of a stir, showing the PMO ignored the scandal for the first while, how Harper’s lawyer ended up disagreeing with Harper on the residency questions, and how Duffy didn’t want to repay anything because it would have made him look guilty, which he certainly didn’t think he was. Most of those players in the emails are still around Harper today. Incidentally, Pamela Wallin’s travel claims also come up in the emails. Andrew Coyne meanwhile has sorted through them and come to a conclusion on his own, so I’ll let him:
Reading through these internal PMO emails again, it’s very clear that it wasn’t the housing allowance that was on Duffy’s mind.
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
It was his other expenses. His lawyer keeps pushing for the Senate committee to say that ALL his expenses were in order.
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
LIkewise, he and she are immensely concerned to have the Deloitte audit called off altogether, in return for his admission of “error.”
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
Whereas Wright et al are merely trying to get Deloitte to punt on the primary vs secondary residence question, since Duffy had “repaid.”
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
https://twitter.com/acoyne/status/631987013223325696
Here’s Duffy’s lawyer pressing her case. Note the implied threat: We have worked hard to avoid the media…” pic.twitter.com/80E5fjahqy
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
https://twitter.com/acoyne/status/631988803641716736
https://twitter.com/acoyne/status/631990423058284544
This was why everyone — Duffy and the PMO — was so keen to have his expenses paid pronto: to give them a reason to shut down the audit.
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
Otherwise Duffy could just have reapaid them over time. It was the time factor — the audit threat — that made it essential to repay them NOW
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
https://twitter.com/acoyne/status/631996316156063745
https://twitter.com/acoyne/status/631996679747731460
The other curious bit is Duffy’s repeated attempts to get the PMO to promise not to refer the matter to the RCMP. If, as he insisted, he …
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
https://twitter.com/acoyne/status/631997702117703680
Answer: it was his other expenses he was worried about. The ones the audit might unearth.
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
https://twitter.com/jenditchburn/status/631888561139286016
Fascinating. “Have you paid the money back yet?” “I’m a man of my word.” Yes, but have you paid it back yet? pic.twitter.com/bBZ7GCRJBH
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
“If repayment is required, it’ll be repaid.” pic.twitter.com/3RfDVQGWFN
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) August 14, 2015
On the campaign:
- Stephen Harper reiterated his economic planks of TFSAs and lower taxes.
- Justin Trudeau made some major policy announcements around First Nations.
- No events from Thomas Mulcair.
Good reads:
- Further to the Duffy trial, here are the write-ups from Köhler and Kady O’Malley’s liveblog recap.
- Aaron Wherry muses about what the Wright emails tell us about the operation of the PMO.
- John Geddes looks at the Conservative pledge for more money for their anti-drug strategy, which is funny considering how much of the existing funding has lapsed.
- They’re erecting a new plaque to honour the former chief medical officer of the Department of Indian Affairs for raising concerns about residential schools in 1907.
- The NDP were caught out trying to pay Punjabi speakers less than English ones at a subcontracted call centre.
- The Canadian Press’ Baloney Meter™ looks at whether the “terror tourism” ban would be of any use (spoiler: Some Baloney).
- Emmett Macfarlane tries a bit of a thought exercise in looking at the progressivity of the Liberals and NDP.
- Colby Cosh looks at Justin Trudeau and his campaign of feelings.
Odds and ends:
The only bio of any Conservative candidate on their website is that of Stephen Harper.
At the Canadian Bar Association meeting, the Chief Justice said that judges are held to account.
Behold, an intellectually capable person taking on Trudeau's "from the heart" quip pic.twitter.com/LVlR3aJYLH
— Alheli Picazo (@a_picazo) August 13, 2015