OTTAWA – A “very upset” Prime Minister Stephen Harper tried to settle down a scandal-rattled Conservative caucus Tuesday with talk of accountability and Senate reform, but shed no new light on the $90,000 transaction that cost him his chief of staff.
Conservative MPs and senators heading into Tuesday’s caucus meeting had hoped Harper would provide more facts behind the growing scandal that forced his right-hand man, Nigel Wright, to resign over the weekend.
But if Harper’s speech — opened up on this occasion to the media, a rarity — was any indication, they didn’t get much.
“I don’t think any of you are going to be very surprised to hear that I am not happy,” Harper said in his first public comments since revelations last week that Wright wrote a personal cheque worth $90,000 to embattled Sen. Mike Duffy.
“I’m very upset about the conduct we have witnessed, the conduct of some parliamentarians and the conduct of my own office.”
Harper didn’t go into detail, however, about just how involved he or his office was in helping Duffy repay living expenses he shouldn’t have claimed in the first place.
Nor did he go any farther behind closed doors; sources told The Canadian Press that while MPs pressed for more details during the meeting on his office’s role in bailing out Duffy, they didn’t get any.
The matter is in the hands of the federal ethics commissioner and the Senate ethics officer, who can be trusted to sort things out, many suggested.
“Trust me, they ask all the questions and they get to the bottom of the matters and that is the appropriate place, and that’s where the ethics commissioner’s report comes up,” said Labour Minister Lisa Raitt.
“It will be transparent and we will be accountable.”
Ethics commissioner Mary Dawson is reviewing whether she should investigate whether Wright broke ethics rules by giving Duffy was what initially described as a gift to help pay back his disallowed housing expenses.
Though Harper’s office has said there was no expectation of repayment, CTV reported that lawyers were used to draw up related paperwork for the personal cheque.
Meanwhile, questions still linger as to whether the money was given in exchange for a promise that the Senate committee investigating Duffy’s claims would go easy on him.
That matter was expected to be raised in the Senate when it resumes sitting later Tuesday.
Senators will be considering the report into Duffy, as well as those investigating Sen. Patrick Brazeau and Sen. Mac Harb, all of who were found to owe taxpayers thousands of dollars in improperly claimed living expenses.
A fourth report, containing recommendations for changes to the rules, is also up for discussion.
Harper said he has discussed the situation with Sen. Marjory LeBreton, the government leader in the Senate.
“She has my full support to accelerate changes to the Senate’s rules on expenses and close any loopholes in those existing rules,” Harper said. “And I expect Conservative senators, regardless of what opposition you may face, to get that done.”
A fifth report looking into expenses claimed by Sen. Pamela Wallin remains outstanding. She and Duffy have already left caucus. Brazeau was removed earlier because of criminal charges on an unrelated matter.
Harper reminded his caucus about a pointed warning he first issued in 2005: no one seeking elected office to line their own pockets is welcome in the Conservative fold.
“Anyone who wants to use public office for their own benefit should make other plans, or better yet, leave this room,” Harper said, jabbing his finger for effect.
Anyone who takes money to which they are not entitled should pay a price, said Quebec Sen. Jacques Demers.
“If these people have done what has been speculated that they have done, they should be fired, they should not just be going to independent,” he said.
The former Montreal Canadians hockey coach stressed that he supports the prime minister, but is pondering his own future. Demers said he may have to leave if the scandal isn’t cleared up to his satisfaction.
“I really, really trust Mr. Harper,” he said. “I’m in a reflection period. It means I’m going to see what’s going to happen. I want to see if I’m going to stay in the Senate.”
Some observers have painted the crisis as the most serious test the Conservatives have faced since winning their majority in 2011, but Harper framed the issue more as a minor distraction.
“We have an active and important agenda on the issues that matter to hardworking Canadian families and there is much work to be done,” he said.
“When distractions arise, as they inevitably will, we will deal with them firmly.”
Harper’s speech was greeted with an ovation and his caucus broke out into chants at the end, drowning out reporters who tried to ask the prime minister questions.
Many MPs went into Tuesday’s meeting following a week of hearing directly from constituents and party supporters who were furious about the controversy. They emerged claiming to be satisfied with what they heard.
“I think the prime minister has exercised leadership today,” said Treasury Board President Tony Clement. “He is very steadfast that Canadians are absolutely correct to demand better, and we can step up. We can and must step up.”
But Harper needs to be a lot clearer with Canadians, the opposition said.
“The fact that Mike Duffy was claiming money he wasn’t eligible to receive … suggests they’re not eligible to sit in the Senate, that’s a serious issue,” said NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus.
“But the fact that a secret cheque was cut out of the prime minister’s office and it was covered up, that’s a very, very serious ethical breach.”
Ralph Goodale, deputy leader of the Liberals, described Harper’s failure to provide any details of his office’s involvement as disrespectful to Canadians.
“They don’t get these special favours from Mr. Wright and PMO, they have to face the music when they have financial problems to deal with,” Goodale said.
“And until the prime minister comes before Canadians and candidly assumes responsibility and answers the questions that are outstanding, we will not have the kind of accountability that Canadians have every right to expect.”
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