In Canada’s House of Commons Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird faced off again repeated questions over a Senate expense scandal, while in Peru Canada’s Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper faced similar questions while on an official mission to Peru.
At the centre of the questions, who knew what in the Prime Minister’s office about a $90,000 cheque given by the PM’s Chief of Staff to Conservative Senator Mike Duffy to pay off claimed housing expenses that should not have been claimed?
Senators are eligible for housing allowances if their primary residence is outside of the Ottawa area. This does not seem to apply to Senator Duffy.
Since the issue exploded with the initial news of the cheque, the Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright has resigned, and the Prime Minister has said he knew nothing of the deal with Senator Duffy to use the cheque to repay the contested claimed expenses.
RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda has a report.
More information:
National Post – Harper’s Peru trip becomes awkward as Senate scandal overshadows key announcement – here
Canadian Press – Transcript of Harper’s first replies to questions about Senate scandal – here
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