With the corruption trial of disgraced Senator Mike Duffy set to resume in Ottawa on Wednesday, Conservative leader Stephen Harper played the law-and-order on Tuesday.
In what is viewed as a swipe at Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, Harper promised a 20 per cent increase in funding to help the RCMP target marijuana grow-ops and meth labs.
Trudeau has already pledged his support for legalizing marijuana.
Harper said that’s the “wrong direction for society.”
Trudeau, meanwhile, tried to keep the focus on the Senate, vowing to clean it up by bringing in a merit-based appointment process for senators.
Harper’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, was scheduled to testify at the Duffy trial on Wednesday. No one is certain what effect–if any–his testimony will have on the Conservatives as they head to the the Oct. 19 election day.
He is expected to be asked about a $90,124.24 payment to Duffy, a former Ottawa reporter, commentator and political-show host for CBC and CTV, who Harper appointed to the Senate.
Duffy has pleaded not guilty to 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery related to expenses he claimed as a senator and later repaid with money from Wright.
Wright has publicly acknowledged giving Duffy the money, but has said his only motive was to ensure that Canadian taxpayers did not have to repay the money.
NDP leader Tom Mulcair kept his focus on Quebec, a key constituency if he wants to form the next government.
He did, however, have some words for Harper, who heads for the Canadian Arctic this week, accusing the Conservative leader of trying to “hide in the North Pole” during the Duffy trial,
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