OTTAWA — The Prime Minister’s Office and the Conservative party say a secretive fund operated out of the PMO to pay for political party costs was not used to cover Nigel Wright’s $90,000 secret payment to Mike Duffy for improper Senate expenses.
Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff who resigned over the Senate controversy, was in control of the secret fund — which is paid by the Conservative party and at times has reached almost $1 million — when he cut a $90,000 cheque to Duffy to help pay for the latter’s improper Senate living expense claims, CBC News reported Thursday.
All major federal political parties have a fund of some sort to help pay for the leaders’ party expenses, such as travel and accommodation associated with attending party fundraisers and other events not directly associated with their parliamentary duties.
Taxpayer cash ultimately helps top-up party coffers through millions of dollars paid to political parties in per-vote subsidies, which the Tories are phasing out by 2015. Taxpayers also ultimately pay for tax credits provided to individual Canadians who contribute to political parties.
The Prime Minister’s Office and Conservative Party of Canada both said Thursday that no taxpayer or party funds were used to pay back Duffy’s $90,000 in expenses or reimburse Wright for the cheque he cut to the senator.
“No funds were used,” said Andrew MacDougall, Harper’s director of communications.
“A fund is maintained so that the party pays any party expenses — not taxpayers. No party funds were used for the payment,” added Conservative party spokesman Fred DeLorey.
“In order to ensure that partisan activities undertaken by the prime minister are never billed to taxpayers, the Conservative party covers some legitimate expenses, such as party events that he attends.”
DeLorey also stressed that no party funds were used to reimburse Wright, who the government says covered Duffy’s expenses out of his own pocket.
The federal NDP confirmed the party also has a fund to pay for the leaders’ expenses that can’t be covered through parliamentary office budgets.
“There is a fund which is used for party-related leader travel and expenses,” said Nathan Rotman, NDP national director.
Liberal party spokesperson Kate Monfette said the party pays for expenses for its leader that are “strictly partisan in nature” and unrelated to parliamentary duties “so as to ensure the separation between parliamentary activities and political activities.”
But a fund has not always been a part of the Prime Minister’s Office. Norman Spector, a former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney, said party-related expenses were invoiced to the party.
No fund existed inside Mulroney’s office, Spector said on his Twitter account, because his chief of staff didn’t have the signing authority — or the ability to authorize such partisan expenditures. The only person who did was the head of the Tory war chest, Spector said.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Jason Fekete
Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff who resigned over the Senate controversy, was in control of the secret fund — which is paid by the Conservative party and at times has reached almost $1 million — when he cut a $90,000 cheque to Duffy to help pay for the latter’s improper Senate living expense claims, CBC News reported Thursday.
All major federal political parties have a fund of some sort to help pay for the leaders’ party expenses, such as travel and accommodation associated with attending party fundraisers and other events not directly associated with their parliamentary duties.
Taxpayer cash ultimately helps top-up party coffers through millions of dollars paid to political parties in per-vote subsidies, which the Tories are phasing out by 2015. Taxpayers also ultimately pay for tax credits provided to individual Canadians who contribute to political parties.
The Prime Minister’s Office and Conservative Party of Canada both said Thursday that no taxpayer or party funds were used to pay back Duffy’s $90,000 in expenses or reimburse Wright for the cheque he cut to the senator.
“No funds were used,” said Andrew MacDougall, Harper’s director of communications.
“A fund is maintained so that the party pays any party expenses — not taxpayers. No party funds were used for the payment,” added Conservative party spokesman Fred DeLorey.
“In order to ensure that partisan activities undertaken by the prime minister are never billed to taxpayers, the Conservative party covers some legitimate expenses, such as party events that he attends.”
DeLorey also stressed that no party funds were used to reimburse Wright, who the government says covered Duffy’s expenses out of his own pocket.
The federal NDP confirmed the party also has a fund to pay for the leaders’ expenses that can’t be covered through parliamentary office budgets.
“There is a fund which is used for party-related leader travel and expenses,” said Nathan Rotman, NDP national director.
Liberal party spokesperson Kate Monfette said the party pays for expenses for its leader that are “strictly partisan in nature” and unrelated to parliamentary duties “so as to ensure the separation between parliamentary activities and political activities.”
But a fund has not always been a part of the Prime Minister’s Office. Norman Spector, a former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney, said party-related expenses were invoiced to the party.
No fund existed inside Mulroney’s office, Spector said on his Twitter account, because his chief of staff didn’t have the signing authority — or the ability to authorize such partisan expenditures. The only person who did was the head of the Tory war chest, Spector said.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Jason Fekete
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