A Liberal Member of Parliament is demanding to know whether Justice Minister Peter MacKay intends to take any action against PMO staffers or Conservative party operatives over the deal that saw Nigel Wright cover Sen. Mike Duffy鈥檚 ineligible expense claims.
In a letter dated Jan. 10, Prince Edward Island MP Sean Casey said RCMP affidavits filed over the last months suggest that 鈥渕any public officials may not have acted in accordance with the law, specifically, the efforts made by public officials to secretly reimburse Senator Duffy鈥檚 unlawful expenses as a way to secure his cooperation in a scheme designed to make it appear as if he would be repaying his own expenses.鈥�
Casey says he is concerned that MacKay has given 鈥渘o indication that you or your office are taking any steps to address this matter.鈥� Casey notes that under Section 4 of the Department of Justice Act, MacKay has a duty to 鈥渟ee that the administration of public affairs is in accordance with law.鈥�
Affidavits filed by investigators contain allegations that staffers in the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office, including then chief of staff Wright, orchestrated a deal for Wright to pay $90,000 of Duffy鈥檚 ineligible claims and also attempted to intervene in an independent audit of his expenses.
The RCMP affidavits accuse both Wright and Duffy of fraud and breach of trust under the Criminal Code, but make no mention of potential violations of the Parliament of Canada Act.
Investigators have not laid any charges in connection with their investigations into Duffy and Wright, as well as Senators Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau, and former senator Mac Harb. All were asked to repay thousands of dollars in expenses after audits found evidence of ineligible claims.
In his letter to MacKay, Casey demanded to know 鈥渨hat actions, if any, you have taken鈥� regarding potential violations of the Parliament of Canada Act.
鈥淚 note that while the RCMP continues its Criminal code investigation into the actions of Mr. Wright and Mr. Duffy, there seems to be silence about the actions of these other individuals and whether they might be prosecuted under the Parliament of Canada Act,鈥� Casey says, asking for 鈥渁 detailed list鈥� of MacKay鈥檚 actions.
鈥淚t is critical that the public affairs of Canada be conducted in full compliance of the law.鈥�
MacKay refers questions to Public Prosecution Service
MacKay鈥檚 office released a statement Friday afternoon, saying he has not yet received Casey鈥檚 letter. The statement referred Casey鈥檚 concerns to the office of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.
鈥淎s Liberal Justice critic, and a lawyer himself, Mr. Casey surely knows that the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) is an arms-length, independent agency,鈥� the statement read.
鈥淥ur Government made the PPSC independent to avoid the kind of political interference or bias in Crown prosecutor decisions which occurred under the previous Liberal government鈥檚 watch.鈥�
Casey's letter to MacKay:
