The Harper Casebook

— 1 — biogra HOW TO BECOME STEPHEN HARPER A step-by-step guide National Citizens Coalition • Quits Parliament in 1997 to become a vice- STEPHEN JOSEPH HARPER is the current president, then president, of the NCC. and 22nd Prime Minister of Canada. He has • Co-author, with Tom Flanagan, of “Our Benign been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Dictatorship,” an opinion piece that calls for an Alberta riding of Calgary Southwest since alliance of Canada’s conservative parties, and 2002. includes praise for Conrad Black’s purchase of the Southam newspaper chain, as a needed counter • First minority government in 2006 to the “monophonically liberal and feminist” • Second minority government in 2008 approach of the previous management. • First majority government in May 2011 • Leads NCC in a legal battle to permit third-party advertising in elections. • Says “Canada is a Northern European welfare Early life and education state in the worst sense of the term, and very • Born and raised in Toronto, father an accountant proud of it,” in a 1997 speech on Canadian at Imperial Oil. identity to the Council for National Policy, a • Has a master’s degree in economics from the conservative American think-tank. University of Calgary. Canadian Alliance Political beginnings • Campaigns for leadership of Canadian Alliance: • Starts out as a Liberal, switches to Progressive argues for “parental rights” to use corporal Conservative, then to Reform. punishment against their children; describes • Runs, and loses, as Reform candidate in 1988 his potential support base as “similar to what federal election. George Bush tapped.” • Resigns as Reform policy chief in 1992; but runs, • Becomes Alliance leader: wins by-election in and wins, for Reform in 1993 federal election— Calgary Southwest; becomes Leader of the thanks to a $50,000 donation from the ultra Opposition in the House of Commons in May conservative National Citizens Coalition (NCC). 2002. • Says he believes the Atlantic Provinces are Reform MP trapped in “a culture of defeat”; later says that • Ambivalent on Canadian unity: calls the “no” much of Canada is trapped by the same “can’t- side’s narrow plurality in the 1995 Quebec do” attitude. Referendum a worst-case scenario. • Writes to the Wall Street Journal in March • Does not play well with others: in late 1996, 2003 to condemn the Canadian government’s breaks with Reform, announces he will not run unwillingness to participate in the 2003 invasion for them again and quits Parliament. of Iraq. — 2 — phy It is the Parliament “that’s supposed to run the country, not just the largest party and the single leader of that party. Stephen Harper, ”2004 — 3 — Conservative Party leadership Parliament for 54 days—the • Elected leader of the new first Canadian PM ever to do so. Conservative Party of Canada. • Defeated by Martin Liberals in Prorogue #2: December 30, 2009 2004 federal election. • Harper moves to suspend • Joins with Bloc Québécois and Parliament again for a little over NDP in September 2004 to two months. propose sweeping changes to • His manoeuvre kills a troubling how Parliament runs. He says: inquiry into government- “It is the Parliament that’s approved mistreatment of supposed to run the country, Afghan detainees, stymies not just the largest party opposition moves to stall and the single leader of that government bills, allows the party.” Conservatives to take control of • Denies any wrongdoing in the Senate. Conservative party plan to buy support of cancer-stricken Contempt of Parliament Independent MP Chuck • A Parliamentary committee finds Cadman with the promise of a the government in contempt of $1M insurance policy. Parliament for failing to release information related to the costs Minority #1: of crime legislation and the January 2006 election purchase of fighter jets. • The three opposition parties • Opposition parties unite in a join in a vote to bring down vote of no-confidence—the first the Martin Liberals mired in a time in Commonwealth history scandal over party advertising that a government is defeated buys in Quebec. because it is found to be in • Harper becomes Canada’s 22nd contempt of Parliament. prime minister on February 6, 2006, at the head of a 2011 election minority government—the • Canadians give Harper his first smallest ever. majority. Minority #2: Thus Stephen Harper got October 2008 election the power every Canadian • Another minority government prime minister always for the Conservatives: only gets: he got the power to 22% of eligible voters cast a run the country exactly ballot for them—the lowest level of support of any winning how he—and only he— party in Canadian history. wanted for four years. And he has. Prorogue #1: December 4, 2008 The only brake or control • Liberals, NDP and Bloc form on what Prime Minister a coalition to bring down the Harper government. Stephen Harper did or • Harper eludes defeat by does is Stephen Harper. proroguing (suspending) — 4 — UGLY TRUTHS UGLY TRUTHS TELL IT ALL! EIGHT NSERVATIVES ARE: STEPHEN HARPER AND HIS CO 1. SHAMELESS IN THEIR ABUSE OF THEIR SENATE EXPENSE ACCOUNTS AND PRIVILEGES 2. DISLOYAL TO OUR VETERANS 3. CHEATERS IN ELECTIONS 4. CONTEMPTUOUS OF PARLIAMENT 5. BUNGLERS OF THE DEAL TO BUY JET FIGHTERS 6. DISDAINFUL OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLES IN CANADA 7. SILENCERS OF SCIENTISTS 8. RECKLESS IN THEIR CHOICE OF FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES — 5 — 8 UGLY TRUTHS SHAMELESS Senate Scandal n 2013: Conservative Senator Mike Duffy caught claiming extra housing and meal expenses n Duffy agrees to repay n Duffy asks Prime Minister’s Office for help n PMO Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright, gives Duffy a secret personal “gift” of $90,000 n Wright “resigns” when public learns of the “gift” n Prime Minister Harper denies knowing anything about any of it n RCMP begins formal investigation of Wright n Senate orders Senator Wallin to repay $139,000 in travel expense claims n Senators Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau suspended from Senate without pay n Duffy to stand trial on 31 charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust. Greedy guts. Prying eyes. AS A TELEVISION journalist and He would simply repay anything he performer, Mike Duffy is used to was not entitled to. Case closed. being in the spotlight, but not Except it wasn’t. quite like this. In 2013, a Senate The Senate decided to take a committee concluded that he’d closer look at the whole issue of A citizens action group inappropriately charged taxpayers senators’ expense claims. inflated a three-storey high for housing and travel that didn’t Their own Senate Internal Duffy Doll opposite Parliament have anything to do with his work Economy Committee would do it; in 2013. The doll holds in the Chamber of Sober Second plus, they hired the accounting a briefcase bursting with Thought. firm Deloitte to do an independent money, while its other hand is Duffy tried to pass it all off as audit of Duffy’s expenses. stretched out asking for more. an honest mistake with an easy fix. The easy fix had disappeared. — 6 — Home is where the expense claim is admit he made a mistake, pay back thing they wanted most: they were Things were sliding from bad to the money he claimed for housing no longer in control of events— catastrophic—and not just for Duffy. allowances, and clam up about the after all they had risked. Controlling the damage over who whole thing. Plus, most important It was the need to keep control paid for his meals was one thing. of all, keep the whole scheme a that pushed Nigel Wright to Controlling the damage over where deep, dark secret. make his mistake. He knew how he was when he ate those meals was In return, he would not be out vulnerable what they had done something else all together. of pocket. Arrangements would made them. He knew it went a lot The Senate rules on residency be made to reimburse him for deeper than getting caught padding are very, very clear. In order to be whatever he had to repay. The expense accounts. He did his best a Senator from PEI you have to Senate committee still prying into to end it but he couldn’t. It just all actually live in PEI. Duffy’s expense Senators’ expense claims would not kept unraveling. It still is. claims suggested he lived mostly in point any fingers at him. Finally, Ottawa. There was no way he could the Deloitte audit would abandon pass off claims made for time spent in all interest in him. And that would Still up Ottawa as an honest mistake. There be an end to it all. But it wasn’t. was no way he could say he honestly mistook Ottawa for Charlottetown. intheair The Many, many questions are still up Stephen Harper is not amused in the air about this whole affair. Duffy’s problems became Stephen Harper’s problem. Duffy wasn’t the $90,000 Duffy first to face the music only Conservative senator with The first round of answers is “issues” over residency. If Duffy expected to come as suspended was disqualified because of blunder Senator Mike Duffy stands trial In where he lived, others might Stephen Harper hired Nigel a court case that opened in April, soon follow. Stephen Harper Wright not to make mistakes. But in he faces 31 charges of fraud, bribery was not about to allow March 2013 Stephen Harper’s chief and breach of trust. He has pleaded anything like that to of staff made a colossal mistake. not guilty to all 31. happen to any of “his” He wrote out a personal cheque for Regardless of Mike Duffy’s fate, senators.

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