Canadian PM Harper's COS quits amid scandal
Hugh Freaking Dillon
Posts: 14,010
this is just ludicrous. Senator Mike Duffy gets audited for $90,000 worth of inappropriate expenses that he submitted (that the tax payer inevitably paid for).
The Prime Minister's chief of staff, Nigel Wright, wrote Duffy a personal cheque covering the full amount in hopes that would halt the audit and "save the taxpayer". Well, now Wright has resigned. And everyone claims good 'ol Steve Harper was ignorant of the whole thing.
I call BULLSHIT on that.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/pms-chief-of-staff-nigel-wright-resigns-in-wake-of-duffy-controversy-208052691.html
OTTAWA - Nigel Wright, the prime minister's right-hand man and the power player who cut a $90,000 cheque to cover Sen. Mike Duffy's disallowed housing expenses, resigned his post early Sunday in an effort to douse the flames of a burgeoning Senate scandal.
Wright — Stephen Harper's wealthy and well-respected chief of staff — stepped down after a phone conversation with his boss, who followed up the news with a statement of his own, saying that he had grudgingly accepted his lieutenant's decision.
"My actions were intended solely to secure the repayment of funds, which I considered to be in the public interest, and I accept sole responsibility," Wright said in a statement.
"I did not advise the prime minister of the means by which Sen. Duffy's expenses were repaid, either before or after the fact."
The Prime Minister's Office said earlier this week that Wright personally paid off $90,000 in inappropriately claimed housing expenses for Duffy, prompting critics to complain that the bailout violated ethics rules that prohibit senators from accepting gifts.
Wright will be replaced in the chief of staff's role by Ray Novak, who has been by Harper's side since 2001 and is seen as a stable influence in the PMO who's well-known around the cabinet table.
Throughout the fallout prompted by last week's bombshell news that Wright had dipped into his own personal bank account to repay Duffy's debt, the PMO stood firmly by him, insisting that his position remained secure.
In his statement, Wright said he regretted the impact the matter had on the government, the Conservative caucus and all his colleagues.
"I came to Ottawa to do my part in providing good government for Canada, and that is all that I ever wanted and worked for in this role," he said.
Harper expressed "great regret" in Wright's decision.
"I accept that Nigel believed he was acting in the public interest, but I understand the decision he has taken to resign," the prime minister said.
"I want to thank Nigel for his tremendous contribution to our government over the past two and a half years."
Deputy Liberal leader Ralph Goodale said the scandal now rests entirely at the feet of the prime minister.
"The issue is not Wright or Duffy or Wallin; the issue is Stephen Harper," Goodale said in a statement.
"The prime minister's wilful blindness is a travesty. All threads lead to him and only he can provide full accountability."
The ethics commissioner is looking into Wright's repayment of Duffy's expenses. Duffy, a former broadcaster, quit the Conservative caucus late Thursday.
The following day, Sen. Pamela Wallin — also a former CTV personality — announced she was leaving the Conservative caucus. Her travel expenses, which totalled more than $321,000 since September 2010, have been the subject of an external audit since December.
Meanwhile, two other senators are also facing demands that they repay improper housing expense claims — and both are fighting back.
Sen. Mac Harb was deemed to owe $51,482 in housing-related expenses, a finding that prompted him to quit the Liberal caucus and sit as an independent.
Sen. Patrick Brazeau — kicked out of the Conservative caucus after he was charged in February with assault and sexual assault — was assessed $48,744.
A spokesman for the prime minister has said neither Harb nor Brazeau was offered the same financial assistance as Duffy.
The Prime Minister's chief of staff, Nigel Wright, wrote Duffy a personal cheque covering the full amount in hopes that would halt the audit and "save the taxpayer". Well, now Wright has resigned. And everyone claims good 'ol Steve Harper was ignorant of the whole thing.
I call BULLSHIT on that.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/pms-chief-of-staff-nigel-wright-resigns-in-wake-of-duffy-controversy-208052691.html
OTTAWA - Nigel Wright, the prime minister's right-hand man and the power player who cut a $90,000 cheque to cover Sen. Mike Duffy's disallowed housing expenses, resigned his post early Sunday in an effort to douse the flames of a burgeoning Senate scandal.
Wright — Stephen Harper's wealthy and well-respected chief of staff — stepped down after a phone conversation with his boss, who followed up the news with a statement of his own, saying that he had grudgingly accepted his lieutenant's decision.
"My actions were intended solely to secure the repayment of funds, which I considered to be in the public interest, and I accept sole responsibility," Wright said in a statement.
"I did not advise the prime minister of the means by which Sen. Duffy's expenses were repaid, either before or after the fact."
The Prime Minister's Office said earlier this week that Wright personally paid off $90,000 in inappropriately claimed housing expenses for Duffy, prompting critics to complain that the bailout violated ethics rules that prohibit senators from accepting gifts.
Wright will be replaced in the chief of staff's role by Ray Novak, who has been by Harper's side since 2001 and is seen as a stable influence in the PMO who's well-known around the cabinet table.
Throughout the fallout prompted by last week's bombshell news that Wright had dipped into his own personal bank account to repay Duffy's debt, the PMO stood firmly by him, insisting that his position remained secure.
In his statement, Wright said he regretted the impact the matter had on the government, the Conservative caucus and all his colleagues.
"I came to Ottawa to do my part in providing good government for Canada, and that is all that I ever wanted and worked for in this role," he said.
Harper expressed "great regret" in Wright's decision.
"I accept that Nigel believed he was acting in the public interest, but I understand the decision he has taken to resign," the prime minister said.
"I want to thank Nigel for his tremendous contribution to our government over the past two and a half years."
Deputy Liberal leader Ralph Goodale said the scandal now rests entirely at the feet of the prime minister.
"The issue is not Wright or Duffy or Wallin; the issue is Stephen Harper," Goodale said in a statement.
"The prime minister's wilful blindness is a travesty. All threads lead to him and only he can provide full accountability."
The ethics commissioner is looking into Wright's repayment of Duffy's expenses. Duffy, a former broadcaster, quit the Conservative caucus late Thursday.
The following day, Sen. Pamela Wallin — also a former CTV personality — announced she was leaving the Conservative caucus. Her travel expenses, which totalled more than $321,000 since September 2010, have been the subject of an external audit since December.
Meanwhile, two other senators are also facing demands that they repay improper housing expense claims — and both are fighting back.
Sen. Mac Harb was deemed to owe $51,482 in housing-related expenses, a finding that prompted him to quit the Liberal caucus and sit as an independent.
Sen. Patrick Brazeau — kicked out of the Conservative caucus after he was charged in February with assault and sexual assault — was assessed $48,744.
A spokesman for the prime minister has said neither Harb nor Brazeau was offered the same financial assistance as Duffy.
Gimli 1993
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
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"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Hopefully I'm wrong
really doesn't matter .. in 2015 it'll either be a corrupt PC, liberal or NDP government .. either way we lose.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
I don't think this will go away that easily.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
it will ... the voting public has a short memory and for the most part most voters are stupid and just not engaged enough to give a rats ass
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
but similar to ford - the conservative base will continue to support these guys ...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2 ... esday.html
accountability! ... what a joke ...
I hope both opposition parties keep harp(er)ing on it and don't let it go. this is going to be a MAJOR talking point at the next election.
you can bet harper knew all about it, and probably gave wright the ok to write the cheque. people in government don't do shit like this without instruction.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Mulcair did a surprisingly good job of hounding Harper in question period yesterday.
he sure did. he did it exactly how it should have been done. with poise and calmness. he didn't pepper him with 7 questions or just yell at him every time he stood up. he asked one question so Harper was forced to give an answer each time. and to his credit, he actually did answer most of the questions fairly directly.
why these idiots don't do it this way most of the time is beyond me.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
well ... we are partly to blame for that ... if we don't hold our elected representatives to a standard of behaviour that is acceptable - that's partly our fault ... also, the hard part is the overall dynamic ... not that the conservatives are solely to blame but they have taken the level of discourse to an absolute shameful level ... and it doesn't surprise me that others have gotten dragged down ...
this board is a great example ... if everyone spoke to each other respectfully - it would be great but it doesn't take but a few people who don't care about that to drag the whole board down ...
oh yes, I agree, question period has normally been a shameful display of shouting and yelling like it's a bloody playground of kids tattling to the speaker like he is the recess chaperone, and yes, all parties, not just the conservatives. it really seemed like nothing but digging for your soundbite to show up on the evening news.
I don't know though, how we could hold our politicians accountable for how they deal with each other in the commons?
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
write to them and say you are embarrassed by their behaviour and more importantly vote the fuckers out ... obviously far from perfect - i take solace in seeing the decline of the liberal party of canada ... their scandals and arrogance cost them and they've been rendered almost to the point of irrelevance ... that's the population holding that party accountable ... let's see if conservative supporters do the same thing ...
well, I'm not going to vote against someone solely for how they carry themselves in the commons. if they keep their campaign promises and don't commit fraud, if they shout at each other a bit, then that's the lesser of two evils.
the libs were on the right track with Paul Martin. Too bad he/they conceded defeat so easily after one election. a leader isn't born out of one battle.
the NDP were on their way, but the death of Jack was a nearly insurmountable blow to that party. he was bringing them up to federal legitimacy. basically, I see the only reason Harper keeps winning is because there's no other definable leader among the other parties. most people nowadays don't even know who they are.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Godfather.
for sure ... that's definitely more important ...
paul martin couldn't overcome his affiliation with the old boys club and the entitled liberals ...
harper keeps winning because his base is very loyal and he was able to draw the middle because people wanted to see what he would really do with a majority ... now, we know ...
there seems to be more shit hitting the fan in Canadian politics than in recent memory. The Conservatives are falling apart.
And I hope it continues.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
It's too bad the opposition won't focus the countries attention on important issues ... Like that now many of the people's who need to retire at 65 will need to work till 67 or like I suspect will end up on welfare, the fact that CPP Benefits should be improved, especially survivor benefits ... CPP is one of the best publicly funded pensions in the world and is solvent for at least 75 years, it's time to improve benefits for our seniors, or how aboutb working with the provinces to ensure that our young can obtain the skills to fill many of the jobs that need to be filled by skilled trades, these trade agreements ... Do they really benefit us? Putting pressure on the federal government to talk to the provinces about health care .... And the list could go on ... Makes me wonder if this was a manufactured scandal so we lose focus of what's really important ... Because at the end of the day this scandal will not stick ... People's of Canada know politicians are crooked and I suspect most people in the end expect politicians to behave badly. In the meantime our opposition MP's are wasting valuable time by not focusing on issues that I suspect are far more important to Canadians. The only party that says they'll abolish the senate is the NDP ... I don't see them ever governing Canada and if they do I suspect they'll stack the senate like everyone else does.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
Yup ... Politicians are born with the corrupt gene
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
and just like in America it affects everybody to some extent,seems like when politions fight with each other the only ones that lose are us.
Godfather.
that's why they become politions....it's not their fault..
Godfather.
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... aucus.html