Scandals – Harper- All here in one thread – Come on down and vent your spleen or even better- offer an informed opinion
No way no how do I believe Harper had any knowledge of the 90 K- nor of the crap going on in the Senate- And I am not in the least fond of Harper.
Now it is up to Harper on how he handles this. AG to audit all MP's and Senators expenses – No negotiations- Same standards and per diems as civil servants – audits to include staff – Office expenses – No family members to be hired - Rigid and clear rules on appointments to the Senate- Resident of the Prov for a min of 10 years. All expenses posted online- All MP's – Senators - No exceptions.
And lastly I think Harper will handle this well. You can rest assured the best advice is being set on his desk.
Senators- Salary plus extras from sitting on committees to be made public- Just another way to feed a pig is my opinion.
Probe urged into senator's role in offshore account - Politics - CBC News
The ruckus over senators and their finances grew louder Tuesday, with a Tory member of the upper chamber demanding answers from Liberal Pana Merchant about $1.7 million her husband moved into offshore account.
Conservative Senator Vern White said he has asked the Senate's ethics officer to look into Merchant's role in the matter, saying there are "serious questions" to be dealt with.
A hellish two weeks for government | Full Comment | National Post
Just a few things from the article.
In Ottawa the opposition parties are suddenly in a jam, unlike any they’ve encountered in seven-plus years of Harper government. With so many Conservative scandals on the front burner at one time, and a limited number of allotted questions in the House of Commons, how to deal with them all? It’s a logistical nightmare.
Set aside for a moment the Senate expense scandal, concerning the still-unfathomable $90,000 payment to former Conservative Senator Mike Duffy from former PMO Chief of Staff Nigel Wright. Never mind the simple weirdness of the fact that Wright had to be run down, on the hoof as it were, by an intrepid and apparently fit CTV reporter, Daniele Hamamdjian, and her cameraman, Jimmy MacDonald, during a 4 a.m. jog, before he, Wright, would take his first questions about the affair. Let’s take a glance at the rest of the pack.
First of course is robocalls, a pattern of gerrymandering first unearthed by my Postmedia colleagues Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher in February of last year. Last Thursday Federal Court judge Richard Mosley ruled that in the May 2, 2011 election, electoral fraud occurred in ridings nationwide, albeit not to a degree great enough to change outcomes.
Next is the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and its patronage-tainted hiring of Kevin MacAdam, a former staffer of Defence Minister Peter MacKay. Monday the Halifax Chronicle-Herald reported that a Public Service Commission draft report on the 2010 hiring was edited to delete a paragraph suggesting political interference. The edit was done at the behest of MacKay’s office, according to the account by the Chronicle-Herald‘s Paul McLeod.
Moving from patronage back to alleged fraud, one-time Stephen Harper appointee Arthur Porter is back in the news. Porter, whom the Harper government named chairman of the Security Intelligence Review Committee in 2010 and who resigned in 2011 following a National Post investigation into his dealings, was arrested in Panama this week and charged with fraud. As head of the SIRC, Porter had access to state secrets. Extradition proceedings are under way, the Post‘s Brian Hutchinson reports. Cue the Graham Greene references.
According to reporting by the Canadian Press, CSIS was aware of Delisle’s illicit activities for months before his arrest, but neglected to inform the RCMP. The Mounties first heard it from the FBI. Opposition leader Tom Mulcair pressed Public Safety Minister Vic Toews on this bit of outrageousness in the Commons Monday but, amid the din over Duff, it barely registered.
Senate committee debates referring Duffy expense claims to RCMP - Politics - CBC News
The Senate committee tasked with reviewing the controversial expense claims of Senator Mike Duffy will be opened up to the public Tuesday afternoon as it plans its second look at the now-former Conservative's books.
Duffy didn't appear at the meeting, despite a suggestion to a reporter earlier that he would, and despite the fact his lawyer asked the committee about the time and the place of the meeting to review the controversial $90,000 cheque he received from Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former chief of staff.
"Why wouldn't I?" Duffy replied when asked by a reporter Tuesday if he planned to show up.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...while-campaigning-for-tories/article12213603/
Senate officials have confirmed that Mike Duffy claimed and received living expenses while he was campaigning for the Conservatives during the last federal election.
The information was revealed during a meeting of a Senate committee reviewing the former Conservative senator’s expense claims.
The Senate’s finance department found that Duffy claimed daily living expenses on seven days during the campaign period when he was not in Ottawa.
No way no how do I believe Harper had any knowledge of the 90 K- nor of the crap going on in the Senate- And I am not in the least fond of Harper.
Now it is up to Harper on how he handles this. AG to audit all MP's and Senators expenses – No negotiations- Same standards and per diems as civil servants – audits to include staff – Office expenses – No family members to be hired - Rigid and clear rules on appointments to the Senate- Resident of the Prov for a min of 10 years. All expenses posted online- All MP's – Senators - No exceptions.
And lastly I think Harper will handle this well. You can rest assured the best advice is being set on his desk.
Senators- Salary plus extras from sitting on committees to be made public- Just another way to feed a pig is my opinion.
Probe urged into senator's role in offshore account - Politics - CBC News
The ruckus over senators and their finances grew louder Tuesday, with a Tory member of the upper chamber demanding answers from Liberal Pana Merchant about $1.7 million her husband moved into offshore account.
Conservative Senator Vern White said he has asked the Senate's ethics officer to look into Merchant's role in the matter, saying there are "serious questions" to be dealt with.
A hellish two weeks for government | Full Comment | National Post
Just a few things from the article.
In Ottawa the opposition parties are suddenly in a jam, unlike any they’ve encountered in seven-plus years of Harper government. With so many Conservative scandals on the front burner at one time, and a limited number of allotted questions in the House of Commons, how to deal with them all? It’s a logistical nightmare.
Set aside for a moment the Senate expense scandal, concerning the still-unfathomable $90,000 payment to former Conservative Senator Mike Duffy from former PMO Chief of Staff Nigel Wright. Never mind the simple weirdness of the fact that Wright had to be run down, on the hoof as it were, by an intrepid and apparently fit CTV reporter, Daniele Hamamdjian, and her cameraman, Jimmy MacDonald, during a 4 a.m. jog, before he, Wright, would take his first questions about the affair. Let’s take a glance at the rest of the pack.
First of course is robocalls, a pattern of gerrymandering first unearthed by my Postmedia colleagues Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher in February of last year. Last Thursday Federal Court judge Richard Mosley ruled that in the May 2, 2011 election, electoral fraud occurred in ridings nationwide, albeit not to a degree great enough to change outcomes.
Next is the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and its patronage-tainted hiring of Kevin MacAdam, a former staffer of Defence Minister Peter MacKay. Monday the Halifax Chronicle-Herald reported that a Public Service Commission draft report on the 2010 hiring was edited to delete a paragraph suggesting political interference. The edit was done at the behest of MacKay’s office, according to the account by the Chronicle-Herald‘s Paul McLeod.
Moving from patronage back to alleged fraud, one-time Stephen Harper appointee Arthur Porter is back in the news. Porter, whom the Harper government named chairman of the Security Intelligence Review Committee in 2010 and who resigned in 2011 following a National Post investigation into his dealings, was arrested in Panama this week and charged with fraud. As head of the SIRC, Porter had access to state secrets. Extradition proceedings are under way, the Post‘s Brian Hutchinson reports. Cue the Graham Greene references.
According to reporting by the Canadian Press, CSIS was aware of Delisle’s illicit activities for months before his arrest, but neglected to inform the RCMP. The Mounties first heard it from the FBI. Opposition leader Tom Mulcair pressed Public Safety Minister Vic Toews on this bit of outrageousness in the Commons Monday but, amid the din over Duff, it barely registered.
Senate committee debates referring Duffy expense claims to RCMP - Politics - CBC News
The Senate committee tasked with reviewing the controversial expense claims of Senator Mike Duffy will be opened up to the public Tuesday afternoon as it plans its second look at the now-former Conservative's books.
Duffy didn't appear at the meeting, despite a suggestion to a reporter earlier that he would, and despite the fact his lawyer asked the committee about the time and the place of the meeting to review the controversial $90,000 cheque he received from Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former chief of staff.
"Why wouldn't I?" Duffy replied when asked by a reporter Tuesday if he planned to show up.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...while-campaigning-for-tories/article12213603/
Senate officials have confirmed that Mike Duffy claimed and received living expenses while he was campaigning for the Conservatives during the last federal election.
The information was revealed during a meeting of a Senate committee reviewing the former Conservative senator’s expense claims.
The Senate’s finance department found that Duffy claimed daily living expenses on seven days during the campaign period when he was not in Ottawa.