Harper unaware of payment made to quiet ethics scandal
OTTAWA--Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper did not know that in order to quiet an ethics scandal his former chief of staff had secretly repaid expenses claimed by the senator at the heart of the affair, the ex-aide testified on Wednesday.
The trial of Conservative Senator Mike Duffy, who is accused of receiving a bribe and abusing expense claims, comes as Harper campaigns ahead of Canada's Oct. 19 election. Opposition parties say the affair shows voters should end the Conservatives' near 10-year grip on power.
Nigel Wright, Harper's former chief of staff, told an Ottawa courtroom that he decided in early 2013 that the only way to kill a raging scandal about Duffy's expense claims was to secretly give the senator his own personal check for C$90,000 ($69,400) so Duffy could repay the money Read more
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