The prime minister’s chief of staff, Nigel Wright, has resigned over action he took in an expense scandal in the Canadian Senate. Wright wrote a check for $90,000 to pay Senator Mike Duffy’s improperly claimed housing expenses.
Senators are allowed to claim a housing allowance if their primary residence is 100 km away from the nation’s capital, Ottawa. Duffy claimed this allowance although evidence indicates his primary residence was in Ottawa not in his constituency of Prince Edward Island, on Canada’s Atlantic coast. Three other senators are facing similar situations.
Duffy said the rules on housing allowance were unclear but he offered to repay the money. The opposition argues that Wright’s picking up the tab hindered a Senate investigation into the matter and that Duffy is not allowed to accept money linked to his job as senator.
The controversy is a hot topic on this holiday Monday with Canadians wondering what the Prime Minister knew and when. Prime Minister Harper and his party got into office campaigning on ethics and accountability.
Wright was an important economic adviser to the prime minister and will be replaced by Ray Novak, a long-time aid and adviser on foreign affairs, defence and national security.
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