Canada PM voices confidence in chief of staff amid scandal

OTTAWA, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Canadian Conservative Prime
Minister Stephen Harper voiced confidence in his chief of staff,
Ray Novak, on Thursday despite court testimony this week that
Novak knew about a secret payment to help a senator extricate
himself from an expenses scandal.
Conservative Senator Mike Duffy is on trial for fraud and
bribery in connection with dubious expenses claims and a
C$90,000 ($69,000) personal check he received in secret in 2013
from Harper's then-chief of staff, Nigel Wright. Wright wrote
the check so that Duffy could repay the expenses.
The scandal and criminal trial involve people who were once
close allies of the prime minister, and testimony has
overshadowed Harper's campaign ahead of Canada's Oct. 19
election. Harper and the Conservatives have been in power since
2006.
The Conservative Party's position has been that neither
Harper nor Novak, who replaced Wright as chief of staff, knew
about the check for Duffy ahead of time. But testimony read into
the record in court on Tuesday indicated Novak did know of the
check before it was written.
At a campaign stop on Thursday, reporters asked Harper if he
still backed Novak.
"I've been very clear, when people are working for me, they
have my confidence. If they didn't have my confidence, they
wouldn't be working for me," Harper said.
"In this case, I have held the two people accountable who
are responsible - Mr. Duffy, who did not repay his expenses, and
Mr. Wright, who allowed him not to repay his expenses."
He added he was not going to hold anyone else accountable
for the two men's actions.
Opposition leader Thomas Mulcair, who is leading in opinion
polls amid Duffy's high-profile criminal trial, has said Harper
himself is ultimately on trial.
As he criss-crosses the country to meet voters, Harper has
tried to shift focus back to his campaign and away from the
furor surrounding Duffy's trial in Ottawa.
"Contrary to what some may be reading, there is one person
on trial here," Harper said. "That person is Mr. Duffy because
Mr. Duffy took taxpayers' money that I believed right from the
outset he should not be taking, and I told him so, and I told
him to repay it."
The question of what Harper knew about the payment may not
be revealed at the trial, which is scheduled to adjourn on Aug.
28 and may not resume until November, after the election.
($1=$1.31 Canadian)