Andrew Coyne: The only right thing left for Mike Duffy to do now is resign

[Minnie]

The Mounties have been called in.

The Senate has asked the RCMP to investigate expenses claimed by Mike Duffy – and to look into the $90,000 payment he received from the Prime Minister’s former chief of staff – after a review found a pattern of questionable expenses claimed by the PEI senator.

Senate finance officials revealed information showing that Mr. Duffy attempted to claim 18 days of per diems for working in Ottawa during the Senate’s summer recess even though other records clearly showed the senator was in Prince Edward Island.

......After more than an hour of debate Tuesday evening, Conservative and Liberal senators on the internal economy committee voted unanimously to approve a report calling in the RCMP.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Minnie

The Mounties have been called in.

I for one can't wait for this Jailbird to sing. Unless the CPC is a mob, you just know he is going spill the beans to save his own puffy hide.

[V]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I think in general there was a lot of apprehension about handing the reigns to Trudeau, but I like what he's shown so far.

I think you're probably right, he's becoming popular for his charisma, as opposed to his name, but you lost me on the last paragraph. What exactly has he shown that would give you an impression either way? He seems pretty void of ideas and substance at this point.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by V

I think you're probably right, he's becoming popular for his charisma, as opposed to his name, but you lost me on the last paragraph. What exactly has he shown that would give you an impression either way? He seems pretty void of ideas and substance at this point.

I've liked the way he's handled the petty attacks from the Conservatives.

[Daradon]

Like the summary Tinordi, makes a lot more sense when you put it like that.

I guess my only question is, if this hadn't blown up the way it had, how would Nigel get his money back? Would it be coming from Conservative party coffers? Or would it be coming from taxpayers somehow.

Cause you know Nigel didn't write that check without expecting to get it back somehow.

[Devils'Advocate]

Actually, I don't know that. If I'm a multi-millionaire that is more interested in protecting my position of power than in a few lousy bucks, I can see giving away the dough and not expecting it back in return.

[Daradon]

There was no reason to protect his position though. All I heard was he was respected and admired even across party lines. If someone asked me to do that I'd tell them to find someone else. Both for the money and the fact I might get found out.

Makes far more sense his boss asked him to do and said not to worry, he'll get it back to him or somehow make it up to him.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

Actually, I don't know that. If I'm a multi-millionaire that is more interested in protecting my position of power than in a few lousy bucks, I can see giving away the dough and not expecting it back in return.

In context with the furor it's creating, $90,000 really seems like chump change for everyone involved.

Like Capone not paying his taxes.

Cowperson

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

In context with the furor it's creating, $90,000 really seems like chump change for everyone involved.

Like Capone not paying his taxes.

Cowperson

It's the principal of the matter, total lack of integrity and certainly poor judgement.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Zulu29

It's the principal of the matter, total lack of integrity and certainly poor judgement.

Did you think I was saying something different?

It's like embezzling $10,000 and going to jail for ten years. If you're going to embezzle, make it worth the potential penalty, like $5 million.

Why are these clowns going down in a fireball over $90,000? It's stupid.

But its the way most long serving governments eventually fall, Liberal or Conservative.

Cowperson

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

Did you think I was saying something different?

It's like embezzling $10,000 and going to jail for ten years. If you're going to embezzle, make it worth the potential penalty, like $5 million.

Why are these clowns going down in a fireball over $90,000? It's stupid.

But its the way most long serving governments eventually fall, Liberal or Conservative.

Cowperson

No not at all, just adding my .02

[smoothpops]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Part of that 3.1 billion does go back to the liberal government as well iirc.

I would say that the sponsership scandal, HRDC, gun registry stuff is pretty similar to what we're seeing from the conservatives. The Senate scandal isa different beast though, especially if it directly links to Harper, it would be his version of Shawanigate.

Neither track record of parties in majority positions is good.

Maybe we need to start having minority governments with 2 year elections going forward for a while.

I wanted to re-read the wiki on Shawwanigate and this stood out;

"While Chrétien faced harsh criticism from all opposition parties, Stockwell Day, then-leader of the Canadian Alliance, denounced him calling him a "criminal"[1], while Joe Clark continued an investigation accusing Chrétien of abusing power, and demanded that he resign as Prime Minister, until a public inquiry could be held.[2]"

Where's the calls from these guys/modern conservatives to even have Duffy/Harper investigated? I just saw Day a week ago on the news, while helping the liberals in BC. He's still clearly involved in politics..

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

In context with the furor it's creating, $90,000 really seems like chump change for everyone involved.

In the grand scheme of things, even the sponsorship scandal was pretty much small potatoes. (The omnibus crime bill, for example, is a waste of money that is orders of magnitude bigger.)

[Plett25]

In some ways, $90,000 is a more significant number than millions. Pretty much everyone can relate to $90,000 whereas millions are just abstract numbers.

[Tinordi]

Coyne is on a role:

But the efforts to cover this up, like the obstruction of the robocalls investigation or the curious lack of due diligence in the Porter appointment, are suggestive of something else: a habit of looking the other way at bad behaviour, if not actually encouraging it; and, when it is brought to light, of denying, and minimizing, and explaining it away.

This isn’t about a few senators padding their expense accounts, or criminal acts on the part of one or two individuals, or even what the prime minister knew when. It’s the whole moral code of this government that’s in question. This isn’t just a problem, something to be fixed — it’s existential. Whatever the various official investigations may or may not turn up, questions about the government’s character are now deeply planted in the public mind, in a way it shows no sign of being able to deal with, or even comprehending.

Indeed, if you want to know how a government gets into this kind of mess, you’ve only to look at how it tries to get out of it. The government persist in thinking this can all be treated as a matter of spin and bluster, much as it has dealt with most problems.

But you can’t spin your way out of something you spun yourself into. If you are generally perceived as devious and duplicitous, more deviousness and duplicity are not going to help. Only transparency and honesty can. But, as I’ve said before, if that were what this government were about, we wouldn’t be here.

http://o.canada.com/2013/05/29/conse...or-expediency/

[MarchHare]

[Dion]

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

Did you think I was saying something different?

It's like embezzling $10,000 and going to jail for ten years. If you're going to embezzle, make it worth the potential penalty, like $5 million.

Why are these clowns going down in a fireball over $90,000? It's stupid.

But its the way most long serving governments eventually fall, Liberal or Conservative.

Cowperson

I took a course in University on Marketing and Sales. The very first thing our prof said, who was also a successful local businessman, is never cheat on the expense account. He told us in all his years, he saw so many otherwise smart people bugger their careers over paltry amounts they could easily afford. Plane tickets, suits, car washes for personal vehicles. Petty greed is a weakness in a lot of people.

He looked at us stone cold that day, and I will never forget him saying "this is no where in the course material, but if you learn something from this entire course, is never cheat on expenses, it's not worth it."

That was 15 years ago, and probably the best message I got from Post secondary.

[troutman]

I got my first articling job because the student ahead of me was using the firm taxi cards to go to the bars. They fired him and reported him to the Law Society.

[chemgear]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stor...fy-email-.html


The email goes on, "I suggested they make me a min without portfolio, so I get a staff, car and more resources to deal with the pr fallout etc. he laughed and said he didn't think THAT was within the realm of the Cons fund."

Conservative Fund Canada is the party's war chest, funded by supporters' donations, and is chaired by Gerstein. Gerstein, a former president of Peoples Jewellers and chair of the Senate banking committee, was appointed to the Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the same time as Duffy, in January 2009.

So, continues the email, "What do I demand?" Then, in a bracketed sentence, he seems to answer his own question: "(That the Cons fund hire my private company, and I use the cash to hire additional staff to assist with these gigs?)"