With the Senate suspension motions now passed, it was a countdown to see how quickly Harper would invoke the talking point that things were now in the hands of the RCMP, and that he couldn’t comment. When QP got started, Thomas Mulcair started by decrying the alliterative “culture of cover-up and corruption” in the PMO. Harper for up to point out that Wright too responsibility, and he then congratulated the Senate for passing the suspensions. Mulcair wanted to ensure that there was no repayment for any “eeeee-legal” expenses, but Harper repeated his answer. Mulcair asked if Jenni Byrne, who was then with the party and now in the PMO, had any part in the repayment scheme. Harper accused Mulcair of flinging mud out of desperation. Mulcair asked the same again with regards to Irving Gerstein, to which the Speaker warned him that this was straying into party business. Harper said that Mulcair was trying to widen the net of blame, and another attempt at the same question yielded no results. Justin Trudeau was up, and wondered if the PM would allow a free vote on their motion to have him go before committee and testify under oath. Harper instead hit back and accused Liberal senators of trying to defend their entitlements. Trudeau pressed again, insinuating that whipping the vote was to participate in a cover-up. Harper continued to insist that the Liberals in the Senate who wanted the embattled three to get off without sanction (which is, of course, not true).
Tag Archives: MIke Duffy
Roundup: Suspensions and scripts
It is done – Senators Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau have been suspended without pay after two weeks of anguished debate in the Senate about the role of fairness and due process, with the official motion here for your perusal. And once it was all over, Senator Carignan, the Leader of the Government in the Senate, went out to the Foyer to dutifully read a PMO script about how the “Trudeau Liberals” were trying to defend those Senators – not only an odd characterisation considering that Justin Trudeau hasn’t appointed any of those senators (though a couple of his father’s appointments do remain), nor does he control them. And now begins the wailing and beating of breasts at the need to update the financial rules of the Senate, a process that has been ongoing for a couple of years now. John Geddes paints the scene of the evening’s events here. Michael Den Tandt writes that these expulsions will reinforce the “Angry Harper” narrative. I muse about the loss of due process in the face of political expediency here.
Due process versus the culture of expediency
Stephen Harper’s culture of expediency has marked every single aspect of the ClusterDuff affair, from its genesis with the appointment of those senators in 2009, to the abrogation of due process that took place in the Senate tonight to their suspension without pay. Those appointments, made in haste and without proper due diligence, created the crisis of the independence of the Senate that we find ourselves in currently – but it was politically expedient for Harper to declare that he wasn’t going to appoint “unelected” senators until it became expedient for him to appoint a glut of them at once and strain the ability of the chamber to absorb them.
QP: In the shadow of Rob Ford
With Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s admission that he smoked crack cocaine crowding out the news cycle, and the upcoming votes on suspensions in the Senate keeping the anticipation there, it was likely that a bombshell of epic proportions could be dropped in the Commons and it wouldn’t make the news. It didn’t happen, but it quite possibly could have. Thomas Mulcair led off QP with a bit of a soliloquy, and brought up the meme of week about how he “couldn’t care less” instead of showing contrition. Harper got up and waxed as poetically as is possible for him, talking about the honour of public service and that he wanted sanction for those senators who broke the rules. Mulcair brought up that these were Harper’s appointments, but Harper continued to insist that they wanted rule-breaking senators to face the consequences. Mulcair turned to the letter the RCMP wrote to Duffy’s lawyer that was asking for documents, to which Harper asserted that the letter was to Duffy’s lawyer and that they have been cooperating with the RCMP. Mulcair wanted all documents related to the ClusterDuff affair tabled in the House, but Harper assured him that he had no role in the affair. Justin Trudeau was up for the Liberals, and asked if Senator Gerstein mentioned Wright’s scheme to repay Duffy between February and May. Harper asserted that he had no idea, and Trudeau pounced, wondering why Gerstein still had his position if he was involved. Harper asserted that the actions in question were those of Wright and Duffy, and then reached for the cudgel of the Liberal senators supposedly “blocking” the sanctions.
Roundup: Leading the RCMP, distracting the public
Senator Mike Duffy’s scorched-earth campaign continues as the CBC has obtained a letter the RCMP wrote last Friday, seeking documents from the PMO that were all mentioned in Duffy’s address to the Senate last week. Because that is something that these kinds of statements under privilege can do – direct the police where to continue their investigation. PMO, incidentally, says they’ve not received any such letter. But it has to be said that it would seem to shift the focus of the investigation from Duffy’s misspending to an attempt by the PMO to bribe, or otherwise influence a sitting legislator – a distraction that Duffy likely welcomes as he seeks to keep attention away from his own actions.
QP: No post-convention high
None of the major leaders were in the House today, and even the Conservative caucus was somewhat subdued, even after a weekend spent sipping the Kool-Aid among the party faithful on the weekend. Megan Leslie led off for the NDP, and inquired about the latest version of events as proffered by Senator Gerstein on Saturday. Paul Calandra gave the basic version of events in response — that Wright made the repayment and that they wanted to suspend those three senators, but nothing on Gerstein’s comments. Leslie wondered when the PM had first spoken with Gerstein about the repayment, but Calandra didn’t answer the question. Leslie asked which version of events the PM believed, but Calandra reiterated that Wright took responsibility and was no longer working in the PMO as a result. Nycole Turmel took up the same again in French, and when Calandra responded in English, Turmel complained about the fact. Calandra responded that while he is still learning French, he didn’t want to give any wrong answers because of his a own mistranslation. Ralph Goodale was up for the Liberals, and asked if Gerstein was an “integral part” of the deception around Duffy’s repayment, but Calandra responded by hectoring the Liberal senators for not passing the suspensions. When Goodale pushed, Calandra claimed that Liberals in the House were also somehow standing in the way, not that it makes any sense. When Goodale listed the many people implicated in the coverup, Calandra insisted the opposition was making a victim out of Duffy.
Roundup: Gerstein’s contradictions
The big incident from the end of the Conservative convention was in the closing, when Senator Irving Gerstein took to the stage to boast about the party’s fiscal position, but in the process, revealed that he told Nigel Wright that he refused to allow the party fund – which he controls – to pay for Duffy’s expenses. This contradicts the Wright affidavit that said that they initially offered to pay the bill when they thought it was a mere $30,000 but balked when the bill was $92,000. Wright’s lawyer responded that they had nothing to say about “the latest characterisation of events” at this time – which has us all wondering which version of events is the truth. And more to the point, that if Gerstein was involved in the repayment scheme, even by refusing it, it begs the question as to why he’s not being hung out to dry like the others are. On Global’s The West Block on Sunday morning, Jason Kenney hinted that at some point, Wright will reveal what he knows, which could be very interesting if and when that happens – and if that timetable moves up should the PM continue to demonise him for the whole affair. As well, a PMO staffer says that the legal fees the party covered for Duffy were related to his audit.
Roundup: Kenney and Rajotte back Wright
More signs of independent thought emerge within the Conservative caucus, as Jason Kenney has proclaimed that he’s still going to defend Nigel Wright’s character while Harper has taken the route of demonizing him in the wake of the whole ClusterDuff affair. Later in the day, James Rajotte joined that chorus. That Kenney, a minister, has a message deviating from Harper’s, is the third minister now who has had a different message from the boss, which John Geddes points out, is a blow for the notion of cabinet solidarity, which is a pretty fundamental notion in Responsible Government as the executive needs to speak with one voice. I’m not sure what it all means yet, but it’s certainly interesting – especially on the eve of a party convention where unity in the face of adversity will no doubt be the message that they are trying to put forward.
QP: Calandra deflects
It was Friday hours on a Thursday, given the courtesy granted to the Conservatives for their convention, and attendance was only slightly better than any given Friday. The final member’s statement before QP was given to Conservative Corneliu Chisu, who played up his native Transylvanian accent to warn about how scary the Liberal leader and his plans were, which is now a Halloween tradition for the Conservatives. Nathan Cullen started off QP proper by asking how many cheques were written on Duffy’s behalf, but Paul Calandra, after a message about safety on Halloween, gave the usual talking points about how Wright took full responsibility and so on. Cullen asked how many people in the PMO knew about the payment. Calandra decried that the NDP didn’t want to talk about to talk about the economy. Cullen raised the spectre of the Liberal sponsorship scandal, and Cullen reminded him that they wanted to form a coalition government with then. Nicole Turmel was up next, asking when Harper last spoke to Nigel Wright, but Calandra simply insisted that they wanted to talk about more important issues. For the Liberals, Ralph Goodale asked for an itemised invoice from Duffy’s lawyer to demonstrate why they charged $13,000. Calandra brought up the sponsorship scandal and the alleged cheque to Joe Fontana from Public Works to pay for its son’s wedding. When Goodale wanted to know how Harper couldn’t know given how many people in his inner sanctum, Calandra responded by calling the Liberals snakes and accused their senators of standing in the way. When Goodale brought up Duffy’s allegation that he was coached to lie, Calandra mused about what Justin Trudeau thought about Chrsytia Freeland talking about people not having their father’s job.
Roundup: No closure, new motions
There remains no resolution to the issue of the proposed suspensions in the Senate, as the Conservatives there found their attempt to impose closure to be out of order and they have pulled the motions in favour of a new one, which ties things up even further. Oh, but apparently their ham-fistedness is the Liberals’ fault, because they won’t stand aside and just pass it. Because yeah, that’s how things work in our parliamentary system. As it stands, those motions may not see a vote until Friday, but may stretch into next week. Glen McGregor checks Mike Duffy’s speech against his speaking notes, and where the deviations from Hansard were. Joe Clark doesn’t think too much of Harper’s handling of the whole Senate situation. Paul Wells dissects Harper’s role in the mounting problems facing him with the Wright/Duffy affair, and how his usual stubborn streak is playing out – in spades. Chantal Hébert wonders about Nigel Wright’s silence in the face of his demonization by Harper, and how he may be the one to bring Harper down. Andrew Coyne bemoans the way in which the Conservatives are chucking away the conventions that govern our parliamentary system.