Stephen Harper’s Senate residency problem

What a burn for Stephen Harper.

Had the Prime Minister appointed someone from Prince Edward Island to the Senate who actually lived there, the whole Senate mess that threatens to tear down his government would never have materialized.

But Harper was looking for a senator who doubled as an ATM to stuff the party coffers with donations, so he turned to longtime Ottawa resident and famous broadcaster Mike Duffy. 

The issue of Duffy’s residency and ineligible expenses lies at the core of the Senate. Harper’s former chief of staff Nigel Wright bailed out Duffy to tune of $90,000, and, in exchange, recently released court records show the Prime Minister’s Office cut a deal with Duffy.

The crux of the deal was the PMO would publicly back up Duffy on the question of his eligibility to sit as a senator from PEI, and Duffy would repay (with someone else’s money) all his ineligible expenses, including those related to his primary residency in Ontario.

Got that? The senator from Ontario could sit as a senator from PEI.

Check out Harper trying to circle the square this week in response to a question from the opposition leader about this basic residency problem. 

Photo: primeministergr. Used under a Creative Commons BY 2.0 licence.