Sen. Mike Duffy leaves Conservative caucus amid expense scandal

Okay, I'm actually a little surprised this is coming about. Well, not really, I saw it a mile away. Duffy has been in the news everyday now since the scandal happened.

Here's some backstory for those unaware or unfamiliar with Canadian politics in general.

1. Duff is a senator for PEI, he doesn't live there, but lives in Ottawa, the nations capital.

2. A senator can live out of state, but they have to be in their home state 3 months a year, and it has to be the resident address for the senator to make their appointment official.

3. Duff claimed 90,000 in living expenses given to senators that are in ridings far away from the capital. This is for things like travel, hotel or residence stay, etc. But the problem here is he was mainly living in Ottawa, so those expenses were BS.

Analysis: Now, here's where it's interesting. 2 other senators got nailed in this. Because of the ambiguity in the laws, they stated that Duffy really didn't do anything illegal. But he was under fire obviously, and, required to pay back the claimed money.

A pal of his and Harper, wrote a personal cheque to Duffy to pay it back ASAP.

Even though he paid back the money, he came under more fire from the press.

Conclusion.

Seems like Duffy was ready to be nixed as soon as his senate seat came available to him. I don't think anyone in the senate liked him, given that details about his story were leaked DAILY to the press, and the press was going nuts on him.

Now, the only two people seeming to like the guy, is Harper, and Harper's crony who coughed up 90k to cover his ass.

The thing I find interesting, is that his appointment in the first place, shows how useless our senate is. He was an okay reporter sure, but he took on a position to write Canada's laws and some would say not only is he not qualified, he's undeserving.

Personally, I think he got the position because he helped Harper over the years. Maybe he covered some stories Harper needed to be covered, maybe he omitted some. His chair was payback (payoff?) in my eyes, and it's pretty damn clear he was never senate material.

IF the senate liked him, there wouldn't be daily press releases. They were all dropping dimes on him. No one liked him. (My opinion based on the circumstances and the actions of the press and senate afterward.)

You are free to offer up other ideas, or contest my position. As I said, this is my opinion. Some of this is not based on fact but simply my analysis of the situation.

Cheers.

Sen. Mike Duffy has left the Conservative caucus amid a growing scandal over his expense claims, CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reports.
Fife said Duffy was pressured to sit as an Independent senator.
Fife revealed this week that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff, Nigel Wright, helped Duffy pay back a $90,000 debt to the Senate for improperly claimed living expenses.



Nigel Wright, chief of staff for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, appears as a witness at the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Nov. 2, 2010. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The PMO then confirmed that Wright, a former Bay Street executive, wrote a personal cheque to Duffy.
The revelation prompted outrage and calls for an independent investigation.

“This is a scandal that’s undermining the credibility of the government and the prime minister, along with Mike himself,” Gregory Thomas of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation told CTV’s Power Play Thursday.
“This is different. This is a big scandal,” author and historian Michael Bliss said. “The $90,000 payment from the prime minister’s chief of staff to Senator Duffy is a smoking gun. It’s serious. I think it’s going to be a moment of truth for this government and this prime minister, and there’s no way it’s going to go away.”
The New Democrats have asked Senate Ethics Officer Lyse Ricard to launch an investigation.

"Apart from the troubling fact that someone else is paying for Mr. Duffy's mistakes, it appears that in receiving this so called 'gift' the senator may have breached several ethical rules of the Senate," NDP MP and ethics critic Charlie Angus wrote in a letter to Ricard.

Angus added that Senators are prohibited from receiving gifts other than those given as normal courtesy. Under the Senate Conflict of Interest Code, all gifts over $500 must be reported within 30 days.


Read more: www.ctvnews.ca...

Update:

Duffy is implicated in influence peddling:

Sen. Mike Duffy attempted to influence the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission’s upcoming decision involving the right-leaning Sun News Network, a source has told CTV News.
A well-placed source told CTV’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife that Duffy approached a Conservative insider with connections to the CRTC three weeks ago to discuss Sun Media, which is asking the federal regulator to grant its news channel “mandatory carriage,” or guaranteed placement on basic cable and satellite packages.
The move would boost Sun News Network’s profile and revenues.


Read more: www.ctvnews.ca...

I never liked Duffy's appointment, personally, I didn't feel him deserving enough, or qualified for the job. But, I almost feel sorry for the guy. There is a lynch mob after him, and his goose is cooked.

Was the party looking to get rid of him? Is his departure convenient for them?