Conservative senator calls on Duffy, Wallin to be ‘forgotten’ if they took money

OTTAWA – A Conservative senator appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper says if Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin took money that wasn’t theirs, they should be fired.

“If he or she have done wrong and have taken money that don’t belong to them, they should be fired. That’s it. No independent. You’re out,” said Jacques Demers, who was appointed in 2009.

“If they have done that they should not be representing Canada, they should not be a senator.”

Demers made the comments Tuesday before Harper addressed his caucus for the first time since revelations last week that the prime minister’s chief of staff, Nigel Wright, wrote a personal cheque worth more than $90,000 to repay Duffy’s improperly claimed housing allowance. Wright stepped down on Sunday.

Duffy resigned from caucus last week, as did Wallin, whose $300,000 travel expenses are also under scrutiny. Both are now sitting as independents in the Senate. Duffy did not respond to requests for comment and Wallin said she had no comment on the matter.

Demers said if the two senators have done something wrong, “they have to pay a price.”

“They should be gone, fired and forgotten,” he said.

The former head coach of the Montreal Canadians stood by Harper, whom he called honest, and said he believed that the prime minister didn’t know about Wright’s cheque.

“There were a lot of things done behind my back as a coach and I didn’t know about it. I found out after the fact,” he said.

However, before the meeting, Demers said he was in a “reflection period” and considered leaving the Senate if he didn’t like what he heard from the prime minister. But after Harper’s remarks, he said he was not quitting.

Referring neither to Duffy, Wright, nor Wallin, the prime minister spoke only of “some events that have transpired recently” in his nine-minute remarks.

“I don’t think any of you are going to be very surprised to hear that I am not happy,” Harper told the room of MPs and senators.

“I’m very upset about the conduct we have witnessed, the conduct of some parliamentarians and the conduct of my own office.”

Instead, he extolled the virtues of his government’s accountability legislation, and took no questions from reporters who asked if he knew about Wright’s $90,000 gift.

“Anyone who wants to use public office for their own benefit should make other plans, or better yet, leave this room,” said Harper.

He also said the Senate status quo is “not acceptable” and Canadians want to see it changed.

But NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus said the issue isn’t Senate reform.

“The issue here is about whether people were taking money illegally,” said Angus. “Why are these people not being held accountable? Why are the police not being brought in and why if secret cash deals were being made?”

“The prime minister’s ethical brand is deeply damaged at this point. And what he did this morning shows that he still doesn’t understand how damaged he is,” said Angus.

Angus also demanded to see a reported legal deal struck between Wright and Duffy. It has been suggested there was some sort of arrangement that an audit looking into Senate expenses, which was much harsher on senators Patrick Brazeau and Mac Harb, would go easy on Duffy.  After Duffy repaid the money, he refused to cooperate with auditors.

A CTV report also suggested Harper’s former legal advisor helped draft the document outlining the secret deal between Duffy and Wright. Speaking in question period in the place of the prime minister who flew to Peru Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird answered: “our understanding is there is no such agreement.”

The advisor, Benjamin Perrin, denied the story in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

“I was not consulted on, and did not participate in, Nigel Wright’s decision to write a personal cheque to reimburse Senator Duffy’s expenses,” said Perrin.

“I have never communicated with the Prime Minister on this matter.”