Liberals Call for Investigation in PMO Ethics Scandal

July 23, 2014

OTTAWA – Liberal MP Geoff Regan today sent the following letter to the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner concerning the RCMP investigation into the actions of Senator Mike Duffy and Nigel Wright, the former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister:

Ms. Mary Dawson
Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
Parliament of Canada
Centre Block, P.O. Box 16
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Commissioner:

I am writing to you regarding the recent conclusion of the RCMP investigation into the actions of Senator Mike Duffy and Nigel Wright, the former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister.

In June 2013, you temporarily suspended your investigation into this matter when the RCMP announced that it was launching its own criminal investigation. Given that the RCMP investigation has now culminated in 31 charges against Mike Duffy, it would seem that there is no longer any impediment to the resumption of your original investigation.

I would ask that you please detail any plans to resume your ethics investigation, including for those public office holders who are not under criminal indictment.

The RCMP’s Information to Obtain (ITO) that was filed on November 15, 2013, documents a very detailed alleged scheme: first, to have the audit into Mike Duffy’s expenses stopped; and a subsequent plan to have a Senate report altered to be more favorable to Mike Duffy.

Participants in the purported scheme, as cited by the RCMP, included: Senators David Tkachuk, Carolyn Stewart Olsen, Marjory LeBreton, and Irving Gerstein; Conservative Party officials Dan Hilton and Arthur Hamilton; and, critically, given your role, high-level public office holders including Nigel Wright, Benjamin Perrin, Patrick Rogers, Chris Woodcock, David van Hemmen, and Ray Novak.

The RCMP documents allege that many of these public office holders clearly had knowledge of the $90,172.24 cheque, which led to Mike Duffy being charged under the Criminal Code’s bribery of judicial officers section. There is no evidence contained in the documents that demonstrates that, once they had learned about the payment, any of these individuals alerted the proper authorities despite the potentially criminal nature of the transaction. In some cases, the documents attest that the public office holders helped facilitate the payment.

The RCMP’s various ITOs that were filed on this matter also appear to document an earlier aborted attempt by a number of public office holders and Parliamentarians to induce Mike Duffy to pass off Conservative Party funds as his own personal repayment of the funds he misused, even though Section 16 of the Parliament of Canada Act specifically prohibits anyone from even offering unofficial payment to a sitting Senator for any matter before the Senate.

The RCMP’s evidence also suggests that public office holders were allegedly involved in: interfering with the independent audit that was commissioned by the Senate; changing an independent Senate report so that it was less critical of Mike Duffy; and engaging in a cover up of the entire affair, which in some cases included inducing Parliamentarians to make public statements that they knew were untrue.

After charges against Mike Duffy were laid, a Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson said: “Those who break the rules must suffer the consequences.” While Canadians can have confidence that Mike Duffy’s actions will be thoroughly examined through the judicial process, there are still far too many people who were allegedly involved in ethically questionable activities who have faced absolutely no consequences to date. In fact, many continue to be on the public payroll in positions that could be considered promotions.

A full investigation by Canada’s Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is essential to begin to repair the damage that this scandal has done to the dignity and integrity of our public institutions. I would respectfully request that you inform me as to how your office will proceed and on what timeline.

I look forward to your response and thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Hon. Geoff Regan, P.C., M.P.