Canada opposition wants probe of PM's aides in expenses scandal

By Randall Palmer
OTTAWA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Canada's main opposition party on
Tuesday urged the federal police to probe whether members of
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office were involved in a
bribery and expenses scandal that has engulfed the ruling
Conservatives.
The scandal, which first erupted in 2013, is threatening to
dominate the campaign ahead of an Oct. 19 election where the
right-of-center Conservatives are bidding to pull off a rare
fourth consecutive victory.
The official opposition New Democrats said revelations from
the trial of Senator Mike Duffy, an ex-Harper ally charged with
bribery and fraud in relation to C$90,000 ($69,000) of expenses
he claimed, show far more top aides than initially thought were
involved in the bid to quell the scandal.
"The question of whether staff in the Prime Minister's
office were engaged in criminal acts has become a major issue of
public interest as Canadians prepare to go to the polls," New
Democrat ethics spokesman Charlie Angus said in a letter to the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Most recent polls show the left-leaning New Democrats have a
slight lead in public support.
Harper's then chief of staff Nigel Wright secretly wrote a
C$90,000 personal check to enable Duffy to repay the expenses
and minimize the fall-out from the scandal. Wright left his job
in May 2013 when the check became public.
Harper insists that only Wright and Duffy knew about the
secret deal. But the trial heard evidence on Tuesday that
several other aides were aware, including Ray Novak, Harper's
current chief of staff.
Conservative campaign spokespeople did not immediately
respond to requests for comment.
Angus also asked the RCMP whether they would be charging
Wright. The RCMP did investigate his involvement, but decided
not to bring charges against him.
The affair, with its talk of backroom deals and secret
payments, could damage a Conservative Party that came to power
in 2006 vowing to clean up politics.
"It was Mr. Duffy's responsibility to repay his expenses.
Mr. Duffy did not do so (and) Mr. Wright permitted him not to do
so," Harper said on Tuesday. "These are the individuals I
consider responsible and they are being held fully accountable
for their actions."
The National Post newspaper, which usually supports the
Conservatives, said in an editorial on Tuesday that Wright's
actions showed "the extent of the institutional rot" which had
spread through the government.
($1=$1.31 Canadian)