OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – Just in time for the resumption of the Mike Duffy trial, Conservative leader Stephen Harper is going to get out of Dodge.
When Nigel Wright — Harper’s former chief of staff — begins testifying tomorrow, the PM will be in the North.
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair accuses Harper of trying to run from his problems. “Mr. Harper has decided to try to hide out in the North Pole.”
A spokesperson for the party denies they scheduled the trip around the testimony, pointing out they will have travelling media with them and Harper will be taking questions.
At a campaign stop today, Harper repeated he didn’t know of the secret Wright/Duffy deal. “We were all told he had repaid those expenses. When I learned that was not true, I made that information public.”
“We do provide some support for colleagues who have legal issues. That’s not unique to Mr. Duffy. But when it came to those expenses that were taken from the Senate that we thought were not proper, i said to Mr. Duffy he should repay those expenses.”
Harper insists he knew nothing of the secret deal with Wright, but the testimony will be a reminder of how Harper’s closes advisors worked the backrooms to make the Duffy problem go away.
In Montreal, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau tapped into that to take a shot at the Conservative leader. “The Mike Duffy scandal is more than just a symbol of Stephen Harper’s poor judgement… It represents all that is wrong with Stephen Harper’s Ottawa.”