L'acquittement de Mike Duffy démontre à quel point les institutions doivent assumer pleinement leur rôle et sanctionner les gestes des politiciens qui sont moralement discutables sans nécessairement être criminels, estime l'avocat de Stephen Harper.
Mais pour le vérificateur général et le Sénat, l'affaire Duffy semble d'ores et déjà close.
Le Bureau du vérificateur général Michael Ferguson a indiqué mardi qu'il n'examinerait pas les dépenses de M. Duffy ou de tout autre sénateur à moins que la chambre haute ne lui en fasse la demande expresse. Or, le Sénat a déjà sanctionné M. Duffy: il a fait l'objet d'un audit indépendant, il a remboursé certaines dépenses et il a été suspendu sans solde pendant deux ans, ce qui lui aura coûté en tout plus de 250 000 $.
Dans un communiqué, le sénateur conservateur Leo Housakos et la sénatrice "libérale indépendante" Jane Cordy, président et vice-présidente du Comité de la régie interne, des budgets et de l'administration du Sénat, ont indiqué que Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin et Patrick Brazeau avaient déjà fait l'objet d'un audit de Deloitte et qu'ils ont été traités en conséquence. Ils ont notamment d rembourser certaines réclamations injustifiées et ont même été suspendus dans certains cas.
Dans une lettre ouverte publiée mardi par les quotidiens de Postmedia, l'avocat de Stephen Harper écrit que l'ex-premier ministre a assumé pleinement ses responsabilités dans la conduite morale de son cabinet et de son gouvernement. Me Robert Staley rappelle par contre le rôle d'autres instances pour forcer les individus à répondre de leurs actes, et à déterminer les conséquences de gestes qui sont à la limite de la légalité.
Me Staley soutient aussi que l'ancien premier ministre n'a absolument pas pesé dans la décision de la police fédérale ou de la Couronne de déposer des accusations contre le sénateur Duffy. Selon lui, on ne peut croire une seconde que M. Harper aurait pu bénéficier de telles accusations criminelles, qui ont donné lieu à un procès politique extrêmement médiatisé _ de surcroît en pleine année électorale.
Le procès a permis de percer un peu le voile de mystère qui entoure le rôle du Cabinet du premier ministre, et de mesurer l'ampleur du pouvoir dont jouissait la garde rapprochée de Stephen Harper à Ottawa. Des centaines de courriels déposés en preuve au procès Duffy ont démontré tous les efforts déployés par le Cabinet du premier ministre pour régler l'affaire le plus discrètement possible.
Le juge Charles Vaillancourt, de la Cour de l'Ontario, a conclu que l'entourage du premier ministre avait forcé Mike Duffy à accepter le stratagème prévoyant le remboursement de certaines dépenses, même si le sénateur soutenait qu'il n'avait rien à se reprocher.
Me Staley écrit aussi que Stephen Harper n'a jamais prétendu que le sénateur Duffy avait commis un acte criminel: il a simplement souligné que certaines de ses dépenses étaient "politiquement inacceptables" et devaient être remboursées au Sénat. "Mon client croyait - et il croit toujours - que la charge publique exige de celui qui l'occupe un standard élevé de probité pour des gestes aux limites de la légalité."
Le juge Vaillancourt a acquitté jeudi M. Duffy des 31 chefs d'accusation de fraude, de corruption et d'abus de confiance qui avaient été déposés contre lui. Le magistrat a conclu que la Couronne n'avait pu démontrer hors de tout doute raisonnable la culpabilité et l'intention criminelle du sénateur, même si certaines dépenses l'ont fait sourciller _ notamment un contrat de consultant octroyé à un ancien entraîneur personnel.
Une fois acquitté des accusations qui pesaient contre lui, Mike Duffy a immédiatement été rétabli dans ses fonctions au Sénat en tant que membre à part entière, avec l'intégralité de son salaire et les autres ressources de la chambre haute.
Me Staley écrit par ailleurs qu'il ne s'attendait pas à un verdict de culpabilité sur le chef de corruption, qui était lié au chèque de 90 000 $ donné à M. Duffy par le chef de cabinet du premier ministre, Nigel Wright, afin de rembourser au Sénat des réclamations de dépenses douteuses.
Les conservateurs ont subi la défaite le 19 octobre dernier et M. Harper a quitté la direction du parti le soir même, tout en demeurant député de Calgary-Heritage.
VOIR AUSSI
Mike Duffy Trial: Artist's Sketches
(01 of103)
Donald Bayne, right, lawyer for former Conservative Senator Mike Duffy, cross-examines Benjamin Perrin in Ottawa Aug. 21 in this artist's sketch. (credit:The Canadian Press/Greg Banning)
(02 of103)
Benjamin Perrin, former legal adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, testifies at the Mike Duffy trial in this artist's sketch in Ottawa on Aug. 20. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Nigel Wright testifies at the Mike Duffy trial as Duffy looks on in Ottawa on Aug. 18. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Nigel Wright testifies at the Mike Duffy trial as Justice Charles Vaillancourt looks on in Ottawa on Aug. 17 in this artist's sketch. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
(05 of103)
Donald Bayne, left, lawyer for former Conservative senator Mike Duffy, cross examines Nigel Wright, former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on Aug. 14 in this artist's sketch. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
(06 of103)
Nigel Wright, former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, testifies at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on Aug. 12 in this artist's sketch. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Suspended senator Mike Duffy appears in an Ottawa courtroom for the first day of his fraud and bribery trial on April 7. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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In this artist's sketch, suspended senator Mike Duffy and his wife Heather appear at his trial in Ottawa on April 15. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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In this artist's sketch, suspended senator Mike Duffy sits in court during the third day of his fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa on April 9. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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In this artist's sketch, suspended senator Mike Duffy sits in court during his fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa on April 24. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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In this court artist's sketch, Conservative whip John Duncan testifies at the Mike Duffy fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa on May 6. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Crown prosecutor Jason Neubauer questions a witness at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on April 23. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Witness Mathew Donahue testifies at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on April 21. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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In this court artist's sketch, Justice Charles Vaillancourt addresses the Mike Duffy fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa on April 29. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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In this court artist's sketch, Justice Charles Vaillancourt addresses the Mike Duffy fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa on April 29. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Prince Edward Island contractor Peter McQuaid testifies by video at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on April 20. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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British Columbia Conservative MP Ron Cannan testifies at the Mike Duffy fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa on May 7. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Witness Nicole Proulx testifies at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on April 22. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Conservative MP Barry Devolin testifies at the Mike Duffy fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa on May 7. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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William Kittelberg, a former journalist turned communications director for several government ministers, testifies at the Mike Duffy fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa May 8. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod testifies at the Mike Duffy fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa on May 8. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Max Faille testifies at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on June 1. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Lawyer Peter Doody testifies at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on June 1. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Andrew Saxton testifies at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on June 2 in this artist's sketch. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Makeup artist Jacqueline Lambert takes the stand at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on April 16. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Journalist, author and now law student Mark Bourrie takes the stand at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on April 17. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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In this court artist's sketch, Donald Bayne, Mike Duffy's lawyer, cross-examines Senate finance official Nicole Proulx at the suspended Senator's fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa on April 28. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Intern Ashley Cain takes the stand at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on April 16. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Witness Ian MacDonald tesifies at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on April 21. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Fitness trainer Mike Croskery takes the stand at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on April 16. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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Crown attorney Jason Neubauer, left to right, former Senate law clerk Mark Audcent, crown attoenwy Mark Holmes and defence attorney Donald Bayne are shown in court in this artist's sketch during the fourth day of the Mike Duffy fraud and bribery trial in Ottawa on April 10. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
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In this artist's sketch, witness Sonia Makhlouf, a Senate human resources official, appears at the Mike Duffy trial in Ottawa on April 14 as Justice Charles Vaillancourt looks on. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Greg Banning)
Senate Expenses(33 of103)
Crown: “He portrayed himself as someone who was a traveller to Ottawa to justify what turned out to be about $82,000 worth of payments…. Certain common sense provisions apply, notwithstanding the policies…. Senator Duffy was probably ineligible to sit as a senator, to sit in the Senate as a representative of Prince Edward Island.”Defence: “The Board of Internal Economy, the Senate, acknowledged that Senate rules and guidelines relevant to primary residence designation were lacking in criteria for determining primary residence…. These matters turn on governing statutes, rules and guidelines and the criteria they create. They do not ever turn on what the Crown hopes and wishes [the court] to impose. … Senator Duffy is not to blame if [the rules] are found lacking."
Senate Expenses(34 of103)
Crown: “He would sign a stack of expense claims in advance, that signature of course certified the accuracy and integrity of the claims…. There is very little oversight…. The first few counts deal with partisan political activity."Defence: “The guidelines given to all 105 senators, Senator Duffy included, advised them explicitly that all activities carried out by a senator that are not related to a senator’s private — that is marital, family, social concerns — are considered public business … and thus qualify legitimately for Senate resources, including travel expenses.”
Attending His Daughter's Play(35 of103)
Crown: “The ostensible purpose of the trip to British Columbia is to go to the Saanich fair. Senator never goes to the Saanich fair, but coincidentally at the same time the senator does attend a theatre production — his daughter is … cast in the opening night of the play and he attended the opening night of the play. So what, by all accounts, appears to be a family trip, culminating or most specifically involving his daughter’s opening night performance in a play is portrayed as Senate business and for which he makes a claim and is paid almost $8,000.”Defence: “The Saanich Fair? … Senator Duffy’s attendance was at the last minute cancelled, not by Senator Duffy. And the Senate rules clearly provide … that cancelled events can be fully billed when they are beyond the control of the senator. I was in Vancouver about to board a plane to Victoria, when he received word his appearance was cancelled. Of course, he billed it.”
Kennel Club And Dog Show(36 of103)
Crown: “The senator and his wife drive to Peterborough to stay in a motel and have a coffee with Dean Del Mastro, who is then an MP. They go to a kennel club show, a dog show, and arrange to acquire a puppy…. That is portrayed as public business: ‘Meet local officials on broadcasting issues.’ It’s in effect a shopping trip.”Defence: “There was no dog bought at Peterborough nor any dog arranged to be bought in Peterborough.”
Grandchild's Birth(37 of103)
Crown: “Between the 9th and 12th of December, the senator travels again to British Columbia to visit his family…. He does attend a fundraiser, one night, according to his diary entry … but the trip had as its high point, I suspect, the birth of his grandchild.”Defence: “Not only is it possible and appropriate to combine Senate travel for parliamentary or public purposes with family and reunion travel … but family reunion travel is actually encouraged.”
Lunch At The Yacht Club(38 of103)
Crown: What Senator Duffy says in his diary, he talks about hanging out in jeans and gab[bing] and having a haircut and shopping and breakfast with the kids. The only ostensible Senate business is he has lunch at a yacht club on the the 3rd of January. I think there may be a supper at the Keg the night before. And he is out there to meet with Andrew Saxton junior and Andrew Saxton junior’s father. Andrew Saxton is a member of Parliament. Senator Duffy and Mr. Saxton work in the same building. And yet he travels to B.C. to have lunch with him at a yacht club…. That trip was booked on the 8th of November, 2011…. That looks like someone who made arrangements to be with his family at Christmas … for which a claim was made in the amounts of $4,000." Defence: “The lunch at the yacht club was a standard pre-budget consultation…. Mike Duffy was in Vancouver to meet key business leaders, economic leaders in British Columbia, to discuss the proposed budget. Of course, he would see his daughter…. The luncheon was arranged by the son [Andrew Saxon Jr.]; the business leaders were the father and other people who live in B.C., and they discussed pipeline issues and other issues of dominant British Columbia economic concern.”
Medical Appointment(39 of103)
Crown: “[Duffy] flies back [to Ottawa from Charlottetown] for a medical appointment, as he must, because he doesn’t have any health coverage in Prince Edward Island, because he doesn’t live there. Initially, the claim is submitted as medical appointment. When it is rejected by the Senate, after they point out you can’t come back here for medical appointments – that is not parliamentary business – it is later resubmitted as a community event.”Defence: [Lawyer Donald Bayne did not address this specific charge in his opening remarks.]
Mike Duffy Media Services Inc.(40 of103)
Crown: “Senator Duffy also had a private business he called Mike Duffy Media Services Inc. He would deliver speeches for which he was paid in his private capacity…. We have evidence that the senator had struck a deal back in January 2012 to appear as a speaker to the Building Owners Association of Ottawa…. On the 12th of September he delivered the speech and on the 13th they flew back to Charlottetown. Senator Duffy was paid more than $11,000 for a one-hour speech that took place at the Westin hotel here, and, not content to pay his own travel, he expensed the travel associated with that event to the Senate: $3,142.41.”Defence: [Lawyer Donald Bayne did not address this specific charge in his opening remarks.]
Funeral Travel(41 of103)
Crown: “The senator would monitor the health of certain individuals that were close to him … and he would often note their passing and immediately on the heels of that, he would book travel to go the funerals…. In all cases, he would bill these as expenses…. The decision to bill this to the Senate is criminal. In his official capacity, he has an obligation to exercise some restraint.”Defence: “Senator [Duffy believed] that all of these 13 travel claims, themselves all openly submitted to, reviewed by and verified by Senate officials as being within the rules of the Senate … to be validly undertaken and well within the rules, as he read and understood them, and that he never had the mens rea to commit a crime.”
Maple Ridge Media(42 of103)
Crown: “Over the period of February 2009 to April 2012, more than $64,000 was paid to … Maple Ridge Media…. [It] was effectively a clearing house for Senator DuffyBy fraudulently representing what role Maple Ridge Media in Ottawa/ICF would play, he created a reserve pool over which there was no possibility of financial oversight…. Gerald Donohue was friends with Mr. Duffy, but he never wrote a speech. They talked, and Donohue offered advice from time to time…. Senator Duffy opted out of financial oversight.”Defence: “Senator Duffy, like the other 104 senators, was given full discretion and control over the work performed on his behalf [through his office budget].... This is an exceptionally broad administrative discretion over the budget and how it is used. Who is retained to do the work? What work is done? And all at the pleasure and to the satisfaction of each individual senator…. Senator Duffy didn’t write these rules … and is not to blame if they seem to the court to be extraordinarily broad and fuzzy…. Speeches were written, speeches were edited, advice was given on a host of issues from regional issues and information to reputation management, to aging seniors, to office setup and hiring to political advice and so on...There was no oversight to be avoided.”
Ashley Cain(43 of103)
Crown: “Senator Duffy directed Donohue to make, by our count, 32 payments totalling roughly $32,000 completely outside the established system. Payments were made to his cousin to monitor events in Prince Edward Island, and in some instances payments directed to be made by Donohue on instructions from Senator Duffy went to people who had no expectations of receiving any money. "Ashley Cain was a volunteer who worked one day a week in the senator’s office…. Ms. Cain had no expectations of receiving any money, but she knew when she received a cheque from whom it had originated. I think it was a generous act on Senator Duffy’s part and if he had been inclined to reach into his own pocket to make that gift to Ms. Cain, he was of course free to do that. But instead he elected to send her taxpayers’ money."
Defence: “The temporary staffer’s $500 honorarium … [was] for four to five months of work in Senator Duffy’s office, clearly parliamentary work, clearly public business… [The expenses] may at most be administrative process irregularities. But these expenses could validly have been paid otherwise, they are all related to his parliamentary duties.”
Defence: “The temporary staffer’s $500 honorarium … [was] for four to five months of work in Senator Duffy’s office, clearly parliamentary work, clearly public business… [The expenses] may at most be administrative process irregularities. But these expenses could validly have been paid otherwise, they are all related to his parliamentary duties.”
Makeup Services(44 of103)
Crown: “Jacqueline Lambert … performed makeup services for Mr. Duffy. An earlier expense claim in relation to some work that she did around the time of his official portrait was taken was rejected. Senator Duffy was told that hair and makeup wasn’t a parliamentary function and that that claim would not be paid out of Senate money. Later, however, Ms. Lambert would receive $300 from Mr. Donohue.”Defence: “This was ... a G8 conference appearance by Senator Duffy and Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the PMO’s request…. The $300 paid not only Senator Duffy’s perfectly standard makeup for television – it is always done – but Ms. Lambert made up the prime minister of Canada. There is no way the G8 conference was not validly related to Senator Duffy’s public business.”
Personal Trainer(45 of103)
Crown: [Mike Croskery] is a personal trainer…. Following [Duffy’s] appoint to the Senate, Croskery would send invoices to Maple Ridge Media and in return monies would be advanced to him, for about $10,000. And the explanation for this that will be advanced, I expect, is that Croskery was far more than a personal trainer, [that] while Senator Duffy was pumping away on the exercise bike, they would talk about issues, but I think the thing that court will want to take note of is the amounts of money paid and how even in a pre-appointment period there was some chit-chat that would take place in the basement when they were going through these fitness workouts.Defence: “There is no requirement whatsoever that the product of research be written. Indeed, much research product is entirely verbal and fully appropriate as paid research…. Mr. Croskery has run a consultancy business since 1995…. He will say that he would have charged the same had there been no sporadic little fitness session tossed in. It wouldn’t have cost any more or any less.”
The Cheque(46 of103)
Crown: “There was an uneasy dialogue between Senator Duffy and members of the PMO about how to handle the situation. They struggled to find common ground…. They agreed completely and continuously on this point: that the scrutiny of Senator Duffy’s expense claims was a bad thing. Members of the Prime Minister’s Office took the view that Duffy had a moral principle, if not a legal obligation, to repay his NCR living expenses. The senator waffled. He was concerned that if he admitted his primary residence was in Ottawa, it would compromise the constitutional validity of his appointment to the Senate. Ultimately, the senator agreed to repay the money but on conditions provided by his lawyer to the Prime Minister’s Office, chiefly including the condition that someone else provide that money…. Senator Duffy was at least an equal partner in this arrangement, if not the instigator.”Defence: “Nigel Wright’s personal $90,000 cheque was not a bribe demanded by Senator Duffy at all. Instead … the payment was the culmination of a conspiratorial strategy directed by Nigel Wright in concert with a small group – his own words – of his PMO concerts and underlings and three key Tory senators – Tkachuck, LeBreton and Stewart Olsen – to overcome the will of Senator Duffy and his continued resistance … to force him to capitulate to a ‘scenario’ concocted by the small group for the purely political purpose of controlling the spiralling political damage to prime minister Harper and his government caused by the media stories of Senator Duffy’s living expenses.”
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It took less than two years for Mike Duffy to go from a darling of the Conservative party to a political outcast and accused criminal.Here's an abridged chronology of the suspended senator's part in the Senate expense scandal at the heart of the allegations.(Information courtesy of The Canadian Press.)
December 2012(48 of103)
Questions are raised about how much time Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy spends at his declared primary residence in P.E.I. (pictured), since he is claiming living expenses for staying in his longtime Ottawa-area home. (credit:CP)
Dec. 4, 2012(49 of103)
Duffy says he got an email from Nigel Wright, the prime minister's chief of staff, saying it appeared that Duffy's residence expenses complied with the rules. (credit:CP)
Feb. 5, 2013(50 of103)
Reports emerge that Duffy applied for a P.E.I. health card in December 2012 and that he does not receive a resident tax credit for his home on the island. (credit:CP)
Feb. 8, 2013(51 of103)
Senate hires external auditing firm to review residence claims of Duffy, fellow Conservative Patrick Brazeau and Liberal Mac Harb (pictured). (credit:CP)
Feb. 11, 2013(52 of103)
Duffy sends email to prime minister's chief of staff Nigel Wright apparently containing advice from his lawer. It outlines certain scenarios for repayment of the expenses and the "assurances" he would require. (credit:CP)
Feb. 13, 2013(53 of103)
The date Duffy says he meets Harper and Wright after a Conservative caucus meeting. Harper tells Duffy he must repay questioned housing expenses. "The prime minister agreed I had not broken the rules but insisted I pay the money back, money I didn't owe, because the Senate's rules are, in his words, 'inexplicable to our base,'" Duffy says in an October 2013 speech in the Senate. (credit:CP)
Feb. 21, 2013(54 of103)
Duffy agrees to follow what he later describes as a PMO-drafted plan to cover up the source of a $90,000 payback to the Senate, including a story that he borrowed the money from RBC. "On Feb. 21, after all of the threats and intimidation, I reluctantly agreed to go along with this dirty scheme," he says in the speech. (credit:Getty Images)
Feb. 22, 2013(55 of103)
Claiming confusion with the rules, Duffy pledges to pay back the expenses. "My wife and I discussed it and we decided that in order to turn the page to put all of this behind us, we are going to voluntarily pay back my living expenses related to the house we have in Ottawa,'' he said at the time. (credit:CP)
Feb. 27, 2013(56 of103)
Harper says all senators meet the requirement that they live in the area they were appointed to represent. (credit:CP)
Feb. 28, 2013(57 of103)
Senate audit fails to turn up any questionable housing allowance claims beyond those of Brazeau (pictured), Harb and Duffy. (credit:CP)
Mar. 25, 2013(58 of103)
Wright sends a bank draft for $90,172.24 to the office of Duffy's lawyer. (credit:CP)
Mar. 26, 2013(59 of103)
$90,172.24 is transferred to Duffy's RBC bank account, and his cheque for $90,172.24 is delivered to the Senate. The cheque cleared Duffy's bank on Mar. 28. (credit:CP)
April 19, 2013(60 of103)
Duffy confirms he has repaid more than $90,000 in Senate housing expenses. "I have always said that I am a man of my word. In keeping with the commitment I made to Canadians, I can confirm that I repaid these expenses in March 2013.'' (credit:CP)
May 8, 2013(61 of103)
A meeting between PMO and Conservative senators and staff occurs to discuss the altering of a committee report on Duffy's residency and expenses. Negative language is removed. (credit:CP)
May 9, 2013(62 of103)
Senate releases Deloitte audits of Duffy, Harb and Brazeau, as well as the Senate committee reports. Harb and Brazeau are ordered to repay $51,000 and $48,000 respectively. The report on Duffy is shorter and does not include the same language suggesting he should have known the difference between primary and secondary residences. Government Senate Leader Marjory LeBreton (pictured) says the Senate now considers the Duffy matter closed. (credit:CP)
May 10, 2013(63 of103)
Conservative House leader Peter Van Loan says of Duffy: "He showed the kind of leadership that we would like to see from Liberal Sen. Mac Harb, who instead is taking up arms against the Senate, saying that he should not have to pay back inappropriate funds.'' (credit:CP)
May 12, 2013(64 of103)
RCMP says it will examine Senate expense claims. (credit:Waferboard/FLICKR)
May 14, 2013(65 of103)
Brazeau says he also broke no rules and is exploring all options to overturn an order to pay the money back. (credit:CP)
May 15, 2013(66 of103)
The Prime Minister's Office confirms that Wright personally footed the bill for Duffy's housing expenses because Duffy couldn't make a timely payment. (credit:CP)
May 16, 2013(67 of103)
The Canadian Press reports that Duffy submitted travel expense claims to the Senate on the same days that he was campaigning for Conservative candidates in 2011 and claiming expenses from them. He resigns from the Conservative caucus later that day. (credit:CP)
May 17, 2013(68 of103)
Sen. Pamela Wallin also announces she's 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. (credit:CP)
May 19, 2013(69 of103)
Wright announces his resignation as Harper's chief of staff, a move Harper says he accepts with "great regret." Wright is replaced in the chief of staff's role by Ray Novak (pictured), who has been by Harper's side since 2001. In October, Harper says Wright was "dismissed." (credit:CP)
May 28, 2013(70 of103)
Senate internal economy committee holds a public meeting to review Duffy's expenses associated with travel. Senate finance officials say they've detected a pattern that concerns them. The committee votes to send the matter to the RCMP. (credit:CP)
June 3, 2013(71 of103)
Sen. Marjory LeBreton, the Conservative leader in the Senate, says she intends to ask the auditor general to look into all the expenses of the upper chamber. (credit:CP)
June 6, 2013(72 of103)
Conservative and Liberal senators agree to invite the auditor general to scrutinize the way they spend taxpayers' money. The same day, Harper tells the Commons that Wright paid the $90,000 with his own money: "Mr. Wright wrote a cheque on his own personal account and gave it to Mr. Duffy so he could repay his expenses. He told me about it on May 15. He obviously regrets that action. He has said it was an error in judgment and he will face the consequences as a consequence." (credit:CP)
June 13, 2013(73 of103)
The RCMP confirms it has launched a formal investigation into Wright's involvement in the expense scandal. Brazeau and Harb are given 30 days to reimburse taxpayers for their disallowed living expenses — bills that together total more than $280,000. (credit:CP)
July 4, 2013(74 of103)
Media reports say RCMP investigators allege that the Conservative party had planned to repay Duffy's improperly claimed living expenses, but balked when the bill turned out nearly three times higher than expected. (credit:CP)
July 5, 2013(75 of103)
Harper is accused of misleading Canadians after repeatedly insisting Wright acted on his own when he gave Duffy $90,000 to reimburse his invalid expense claims. The RCMP says in a court document that Wright told three other senior people in the PMO about the transaction. (credit:CP)
July 17, 2013(76 of103)
Harper's office says it has not been asked by the RCMP for an email at the heart of its criminal investigation into the Senate expenses scandal. The PMO denies withholding the email, which apparently summarizes the deal struck between Duffy and Wright to pay off invalid expense claims. (credit:CP)
Aug. 26, 2013(77 of103)
Harb resigns from the upper chamber. Harb, who earlier left the Liberal party to sit as an Independent, drops a lawsuit and pledges to repay his questioned living and expense claims. (credit:CP)
Oct. 8, 2013(78 of103)
RCMP alleges Duffy awarded $65,000 in Senate contracts to Gerald Donahue, a friend and former TV technician, who did little actual work for the money. (credit:CP)
Oct. 17, 2013(79 of103)
Claude Carignan, the government's new leader in the Senate, introduces motions to suspend Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau from the Senate. The motions call for the three to be stripped of their pay, benefits and Senate resources. (credit:CP)
Oct. 21, 2013(80 of103)
Duffy's lawyer, Donald Bayne, alleges Harper's staff and key Conservative senators were behind a scheme to have Duffy take the fall for wrongdoing that they agreed he had not committed. (credit:CP)
Oct. 22, 2013(81 of103)
In his explosive speech in the Senate chamber, Duffy accuses Harper's office of orchestrating a ''monstrous fraud'' aimed at snuffing out controversy over his expenses. Duffy accuses the prime minister of being more interested in appeasing his Conservative base than the truth. (credit:CP)
Oct. 28, 2013(82 of103)
Duffy delivers another speech, this time saying the Conservative party made arrangements to cover his $13,560 legal bill. "The PMO — listen to this — had the Conservative party's lawyer, Arthur Hamilton, pay my legal fees," Duffy says. He also casts doubt on whether Wright actually paid the $90,000: "I have never seen a cheque from Nigel Wright." (credit:CP)
Nov. 5, 2013(83 of103)
A Nov. 1 letter from the RCMP superintendent in charge of the investigation reveals that investigators want copies of emails and documents mentioned by Duffy, including emails from the PMO related to a "script" for Duffy to follow in publicly explaining how he financed repaying the expenses. The documents "may potentially be evidence of criminal wrongdoing by others," the letter reads. (credit:CP)
Nov. 5, 2013(84 of103)
Senators finally vote to suspend Brazeau, Duffy and Wallin without pay — but with health, dental and life insurance benefits intact — for the remainder of the parliamentary session. (credit:CP)
Jan. 29, 2014(85 of103)
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau expels the 32 Liberal senators from his caucus in what he calls an effort to reduce partisanship in the upper chamber. He says if he becomes prime minister he would appoint only independent senators, chosen through an open public process. (credit:CP)
April 15, 2014:(86 of103)
RCMP inform Nigel Wright he will not face criminal charges. (credit:CP)
July 17, 2014(87 of103)
Duffy is charged with 31 counts, including fraud, breach of trust and bribery. (credit:CP)
Sept. 23, 2014:(88 of103)
A trial date is set for April 7, 2015, with 41 days set aside in April, May and June. (credit:CP)
'I Can't Figure Out Why The RCMP Would Have Anything To Do With This'(89 of103)
Sen. Mike Duffy sent an email to Nigel Wright following a news story referencing a Senate matter.(Continued)
'I am Extremely Frustrated'(90 of103)
'I Am No Longer 100% Sure We Can Deliver'(91 of103)
On March 1, Duffy's lawyer Janice Payne emailed former PMO legal adviser Ben Perrin for an update.
'I Am Personally Covering Duffy's $90K...'(92 of103)
In an March 8 email, Wright told Chris Woodcock the party would not be paying the Duffy cheque.
'But PM's Reputation – And That Of Sen Caucus – Going Down In Flames''(93 of103)
On May 9, Wright responded to an email forwarded by Ray Novak from Sen. Linda Frum over concerns about protecting Tory senators.
'Chinese Water Torture'(94 of103)
On page 26 of the documents, the RCMP note "On February 15, there were e-mail discussions within the PMO about the SenateRules committee and a proposed definition of residency, Nigel Wright e-mailed Benjamin Perrin."
'He Just Handed The Libs The Reason To Go To The Police'(95 of103)
On page 44 of the documents, the RCMP detail an email exchange between Tory Senator Carolyn Stewart Olsen and PMO staffers Chris Woodcock and Patrick Rogers.
'We Are Good To Go From The PM'(96 of103)
Page 32 of the documents details a Feb. 22 email from Nigel Wright to staffers in the PMO, including lawyer Benjamin Perrin.
'The PM Knows, In Broad Terms Only...'(97 of103)
Page 45 of the documents details an email on May 14 from PMO staffer Andrew MacDougall to Nigel Wright and others. MacDougall says he has received inquiries from a journalist about Nigel Wright co-signing a loan for Senator Duffy to repay the money. Carl Vallee, PMO Press Secretary, writes:"Would the PM know the actual answer to the question? Just in case he asks us."
1) He probably took a BIG pay cut to work in the PMO(98 of103)
It is believed that Wright was earning more than $2 million in salary and bonuses at Onex before serving as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff. Wright made around $300,000 working on Parliament Hill. (credit:(CP))
2) He's unmarried(99 of103)
Along with John Baird, Jason Kenney, and James Moore, Wright was one of four “single, white males” profiled in Maclean’s magazine in 2011 as holding immense power in Harper’s inner circle. Moore has since tied the knot, and Baird has resigned. (credit:(CP))
3) He's a big runner(100 of103)
Wright would apparently run a half-marathon each morning before starting a 14-hour work day at Onex.He kept that pace after he began working in Ottawa.He is said to be fond of telling a story of once being surrounded by several snarling dogs during an early morning run - a perfect metaphor for politics. (credit:(CP/The Globe and Mail))
4) Harper wasn't the first PM he worked for(101 of103)
Wright was a speechwriter and policy adviser to former prime minister Brian Mulroney. He was also policy co-ordinator for Kim Campbell's leadership campaign. (credit:(CP))
5) He almost became a priest(102 of103)
Wright considered joining the Anglican priesthood as a young man. He is currently a subdeacon at St. Thomas’s Anglican Church in Toronto. (credit:(CP/The Globe and Mail))
6) He was the subject of a conflict of interest probe(103 of103)
The federal ethics watchdog cleared Wright of conflict of interest allegations in January, 2013. Ethics commissioner Mary Dawson investigated Wright after it was reported he was lobbied on three occasions by Barrick Gold Corp, despite deep personal connections to the company’s founding family. Dawson found there was no violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. (credit:(CP))