Majority of Canadians don't believe Harper on Duffy Trial

[mentalfloss]

The Duffy trial: Senate scandal testimony threatens Harper’s fortunes among soft Conservative voters

August 20, 2015 – Days of bombshell revelations and conflicting testimony over who in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s inner circle knew what, and when, regarding the Mike Duffy Senate expense affair, are bringing bad news to the fight to lock in “soft” Conservative voters in the midst of a federal election campaign.

While the election period has yet to reach the halfway point during these dog days of summer, the criminal trial ofSenator Mike Duffy – a Harper appointee – is indeed capturing the attention of most Canadians – while exposing skepticism about the PM’s version of events. This, according to the findings from the latest Angus Reid Institute public opinion poll.

To recap: Senator Mike Duffy is on trial facing 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery related to a $90,000 payment from Harper’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright. This was made to repay Duffy’s ineligible Senate housing expenses. Conflicting testimony has subsequently raised questions over Harper’s version of events around this payment: that only Duffy and Wright – excluding all others – were aware of it. Wright has testified that the plan was conceived in part to minimize political damage to the prime minister. Ultimately however, damage has been done – as evidenced by key findings from this poll. Whether that damage is irreversible remains to be seen.

Key Findings:

Three-in-five Canadians (59%) say they don’t believe Stephen Harper’s version of events

This includes one-in-five (23%) voters leaning towards but not yet totally committed to the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) when it comes to their voting intention on October 19th

More generally, a majority of all uncommitted voters (59%) reject the Prime Minister’s account

When asked to choose between framing the Duffy trial as a “distraction” from other, more important campaign issues or framing it as evidence of a deeper scandal that will become a key issue in the campaign, fully three-fifths (61%) off all respondents choose the latter

Among those who see a deeper scandal than what has surfaced already are almost a quarter (23%) of leaning but as yet uncommitted CPC voters

That said, the Duffy affair may not yet be a deciding issue in the campaign:

More than seven-in-ten (72%) of all respondents who don’t believe Harper say the scandal is “outweighed by other election issues”

..more...

The Duffy trial: Senate scandal testimony threatens Harper’s fortunes among soft Conservative voters - Angus Reid Institute

 

[taxslave]

Actually most Canadians could care less about Duffy. THe media party and the chattering classes are the only ones interested.
Duffy will probably be found innocent simply because of the loose ways Senate rules are written and applied.

 

[pgs]

Actually most Canadians could care less about Duffy. THe media party and the chattering classes are the only ones interested.
Duffy will probably be found innocent simply because of the loose ways Senate rules are written and applied.

Yup nobody I know other then political junkies cares one way or another about this non scandal .
The press are sure playing it up though .

 

[DaSleeper]

And flossie goes gobble gobble

 

[mentalfloss]

Perrin took ‘good to go’ to mean Harper approved Duffy deal

OTTAWA—A former lawyer for Stephen Harper says he believes the prime minister personally approved details of a secret plan with Mike Duffy to have Conservative party funds cover the senator’s questionable expenses and shield him from further investigation by independent auditors and even the police.

Benjamin Perrin said he interpreted a Feb. 22, 2013 email from Nigel Wright, then Harper’s chief of staff, that “We are good to go from the PM” to mean that Harper himself had endorsed the plan.

“My understanding from that email was that the prime minister himself had approved of the five points,” Perrin told an Ottawa court Friday.

“Clearly, I never directly communicated with the Prime Minister. But when Mr. Wright wrote ‘good to go from the PM,’ I took that to mean that prime minister himself had directly approved that,” Perrin said.

“It certainly provided me with an assurance that there was no concern from my client whatsoever,” Perrin said.

...more foul play from the PMO..

http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news...continues-testimony-at-duffy-trial-today.html

 

[Locutus]

 

[pgs]

Perrin took ‘good to go’ to mean Harper approved Duffy deal

OTTAWA—A former lawyer for Stephen Harper says he believes the prime minister personally approved details of a secret plan with Mike Duffy to have Conservative party funds cover the senator’s questionable expenses and shield him from further investigation by independent auditors and even the police.

Benjamin Perrin said he interpreted a Feb. 22, 2013 email from Nigel Wright, then Harper’s chief of staff, that “We are good to go from the PM” to mean that Harper himself had endorsed the plan.

“My understanding from that email was that the prime minister himself had approved of the five points,” Perrin told an Ottawa court Friday.

“Clearly, I never directly communicated with the Prime Minister. But when Mr. Wright wrote ‘good to go from the PM,’ I took that to mean that prime minister himself had directly approved that,” Perrin said.

“It certainly provided me with an assurance that there was no concern from my client whatsoever,” Perrin said.

...more foul play from the PMO..

http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news...continues-testimony-at-duffy-trial-today.html

The press cares about this why ?

 

[taxslave]

The press cares about this why ?

and their union getting a few swats in on Harper.

I still don't see what the big deal is. The taxpayers got their money back. IF Mr. Wright felt like shelling it out of his own pocket or conservative party members footed the bill and are happy with this it matters not to anyone else.

 

[pgs]

and their union getting a few swats in on Harper.

I still don't see what the big deal is. The taxpayers got their money back. IF Mr. Wright felt like shelling it out of his own pocket or conservative party members footed the bill and are happy with this it matters not to anyone else.

And the NDP still haven't paid back the money's they used to staff satellite offices against all spending rules .
2.2 million and nary a peep but paying back 90,000.00 big scandal .


Hey pressitudes spend some time investigating the Canadian Standards association if you want a scandal .


Nah to much work .

 

[tay]

and their union getting a few swats in on Harper.

I still don't see what the big deal is. The taxpayers got their money back. IF Mr. Wright felt like shelling it out of his own pocket or conservative party members footed the bill and are happy with this it matters not to anyone else.

The 'big deal' is if they are all lying about this trivial situation, what else are they lying about?


The CONS have done this to themselves.


The beginning of their downfall was caused by the initial lie by claiming The Cavendish Cottager paid the 90 thou back himself in addition to trying to cover up the supposedly independent audit of Duffy’s expenses.


Why they weren't upfront in the beginning is they simply didn't want to admit that one of Harpers picks to be a Senator turned out to be a turd and another in the crowded room of failed picks by the Harper team.


So much of a turd that even Chretien rebuked Duffy as a Senate appointee but once Duffy went on the campaign trail for Harper with the golden carrot being a Senate seat if Harper won, Harper had no choice but to reward him.


Harper did have private talks with Duffy leading up to his deal but I think a lot of people around Harper either (a) didn't inform Harper that Duffy was known to be an all around sleaze ball in Ottawa


or


(b) Harper knew and went with his support, knowing about (a),but thinking Duffy campaigning for him would help put him in a majority and that Duffy would calm down once appointed.




It all comes down to credibility and if everyone around Harper was lying to not only Canadians but Harper himself then Harper must wonder who can he trust which at this point is no one.


But if, as alleged by Perrin, Harper knew about this and said he didn't, well that's not good for anyone in Canada.........






From 2013




Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s ex-chief of staff worked closely with two Conservative senators to persuade Sen. Mike Duffy to pretend to repay $90,000 in invalid expenses with his own money, emails show.

The emails, seen by CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife, reveal that Harper’s former right-hand man, Nigel Wright, consulted with David Tkachuk and Carolyn Stewart Olsen – two senators who were overseeing what was supposed to be an independent audit of Duffy’s expenses


In May, Fife revealed that Wright had personally bailed out Duffy by writing him a $90,000 cheque to cover his improperly claimed expenses. Harper and his office have insisted that Wright acted alone, but the latest emails suggest otherwise.

Those emails show that Duffy had initially refused to go along with the plan to repay the taxpayer-funded living allowance and other expenses using Wright’s money.

The embattled senator was then threatened with the loss of his seat in the upper chamber.

In the emails, Duffy claimed that Tkachuk, who until recently was the chair of the Senate internal economy committee, told him he didn’t meet the Senate’s residency requirements because he lived in Ottawa

Tkachuk allegedly told Duffy that if he went along with Wright’s bailout offer, the Senate committee would throw out the residency issue and go easy on him in the audit of his expenses.


http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/mike-duffy-made-secret-deal-with-harper-s-chief-of-staff-during-audit-1.1282015


and




Wright worked with 2 Conservative senators to reach Duffy deal, emails show | CTV News

 

[Corduroy]

Looks like the same percentage of people who don't believe Harper are the same percentage of people who aren't voting Conservative. How much is this going to effect the election? Probably not much.

 

[JLM]

Looks like the same percentage of people who don't believe Harper are the same percentage of people who aren't voting Conservative. How much is this going to effect the election? Probably not much.

Amazing isn't it? Harper is on cloud 9 right now, he's basically being asked one question, the answer to which is well rehearsed and none of the tough questions (economy, jobs, climate change) aren't being asked.

 

[JamesBondo]

Harper stands by staffers including Ray Novak | Watch News Videos Online

 

[relic]

So,you goomers don't care that your great leader is a lieing sack of **** ,that surrounds himself with other lieing sacks of the same kind of ****. Kind of makes one wonder about your ethics.

 

[JLM]

So,you goomers don't care that your great leader is a lieing sack of **** ,that surrounds himself with other lieing sacks of the same kind of ****. Kind of makes one wonder about your ethics.

So let's hear about his opponents who peddle less sh*t.

 

[lone wolf]

If he doesn't even know what's going on in his own office, is Harper ready yet?

 

[mentalfloss]

So,you goomers don't care that your great leader is a lieing sack of **** ,that surrounds himself with other lieing sacks of the same kind of ****. Kind of makes one wonder about your ethics.

We've been seeing this kind of behavior for 8 years now?

I'm kinda numb to it myself.

 

[JLM]

I think the majority of Canadians are sick and tired of hearing about the Duffy trial. There's a million issues that are more important and interesting than that porcine little bastard and his feelings of entitlement and self importance.

 

[darkbeaver]

I think the majority of Canadians are sick and tired of hearing about the Duffy trial. There's a million issues that are more important and interesting than that porcine little bastard and his feelings of entitlement and self importance.

The most important thing to Canada right now is to get rid of Harper before he sends more Canadians to the bankers wars.

 

[taxslave]

The most important thing to Canada right now is to get rid of Harper before he sends more Canadians to the bankers wars.

A far smarter idea would to see if bill C51 actually works and send terrorist lovers out of the country.