Ezra Levant was paid for two speeches he wrote Mike Duffy, court hears

OTTAWA – When his magazine folded in late 2007, right-leaning media personality Ezra Levant sent letters to every Conservative politician in Ottawa telling them he was available for paid speechwriting gigs – and Mike Duffy took him up on it, court heard Wednesday.

“As I recall I would have written a letter to all the Conservative Parliamentarians,” Levant said.

“I think I wrote to everyone.”

Testifying by phone, the former Sun News host told the court he wrote two or three speeches for Duffy, whom he’d known for 20 years, while the latter was a Conservative senator.

Cheques exhibited in court show Levant was paid $2,100 each for two speeches in 2010 and 2011.

But the money didn’t come from the Senate.

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Instead, the cheques from April 2010 and March 2011 were signed by Gerald Donohue, Duffy’s friend who headed two companies, Maple Ridge Media and later, Ottawa ICF (insulating concrete forms.)

The Crown alleges Duffy illegally funnelled $65,000 worth of Senate contract money to Donohue’s companies, thwarting official oversight and paying for services such as a makeup artist, a volunteer and a personal trainer.

But Duffy’s lawyer has argued there was no oversight to avoid, and while Duffy’s office may have made administrative errors, everything he paid for was in his capacity as a senator.

Duffy faces 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust, and one for bribery. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Levant testified that he’d never heard of Donohue or his companies before receiving their cheques.

He said the two speeches in question focused on the history of democratic government in Prince Edward Island, and “funnily enough,” one about RCMP anniversaries and traditions.

He said he didn’t have a flat rate for clients, which included other senators, MPs and political candidates. But when he wrote for other senators, he was paid by Senate cheques, he said.

“I found it difficult to know what was right to charge, so my universal policy was to tell people, pay me what you think is reasonable,” Levant said.

In a May 3, 2011 email to Duffy, Levant asks how it went.

“Was the speech well-received? I felt like I didn’t do a good job for you,” he wrote.

Levant said he freelanced as a writer for about three years, but stopped taking paid gigs before Sun News Network launched in April 2011.

“It was basically one of the jack-of-all-trades political journalism kind of things I did between, quote, real jobs,” Levant said.

According to newspaper archives, Levant did, however, continue to write columns in the National Post and Sun Media papers.

On cross-examination, Levant said he wrote valid public policy speeches for Duffy, who never received kickbacks, and that the $2,000 rate was on par with other politicians.

“It’s in the ballpark of what other senators and office holders would have paid me,” Levant said.

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Testimony grew tense when Crown prosecutor Jason Neubauer asked Levant if he was a registered lobbyist at the time of his speechwriting for Duffy.

Levant said he was registered to lobby for two clients: one for harvesting pine beetle-infected trees to make mats used in the oil and gas industry, and one was for cigarette packaging.

“Nothing touched upon my dealings with Senator Duffy,” he said.

But he couldn’t recall if he was registered when he wrote Duffy’s speeches.

When asked by the Crown if he signed a conflict of interest declaration with either Duffy or an official from Maple Ridge Media or Ottawa ICF, Levant said, “the answer is no and I don’t even understand what you’re talking about.”

“What conflict of interest?” Levant said.

“No. Want anymore info on mats though?” Levant added.

“No, thank you,” Neubauer said.

Court also heard Wednesday from a dog breeder in New Brunswick, who testified that Duffy bought two Kettle Blue terrier puppies from her in 2006 and 2011, respectively, after the first one died unexpectedly from cancer.

But Barbara Thompson said neither she nor the puppies’ mother, Charmaine, was at a dog show in Peterborough in July 2010, when the Crown alleges Duffy took a $700 trip on the Senate’s dime.

Conservative MP John Duncan also took the stand Wednesday to testify about a fundraising dinner Duffy attended in Comox, B.C. on June 22, 2009.

Duncan, who represents Vancouver Island North, said Duffy was a popular figure who was lauded in caucus as an entertaining speaker at Conservative events.

The Crown contends that Duffy billed taxpayers for partisan fundraising events that were not allowed, although there are no explicit Senate rules forbidding it other than during elections or nomination campaigns.

According to Duffy’s travel claim, he billed the Senate for almost $6,500 for the five-day trip to British Columbia which included stops in Comox, Vancouver, Prince George and Kelowna. The flight to Comox itself was $2,173, the documents show.

On cross-examination by Duffy’s lawyer Donald Bayne, Duncan said he approached Duffy several weeks before the 2009 event to ask him to come to speak at his riding.

“Would it be fair to say Senator Duffy was a popular name, a person in demand in the caucus among other Parliamentarians, to answer the call just as you gave it to him?” Bayne asked.

“Yes,” Duncan said.

Bayne also suggested that Duffy had other official meetings while in Comox, including one with municipal mayors, and talking to two veterans who were protesting the fundraiser in the parking lot.

Duncan, however, said he was not aware of the meetings and it was customary to inform the local MP of such events.

Duncan testified that his electoral district association picked up the senator’s hotel and food bills, and that the president offered to pay for Duffy’s flight from Vancouver to Comox.

But upon receiving the bill, the treasurer refused to pay it, Duncan said, but he didn’t know why.

Duffy’s travel claim for a “series of speaking engagements” says the flight was paid for by “the event host.”

According to Duffy’s diary, he also attended fundraising events for Conservative MPs in Prince George and Kelowna.

The trial continues until Friday before it takes a three-week break.