In a statement issued Sunday morning, Nigel Wright says Stephen Harper has accepted his resignation.
MORE FROM CP: Nigel Wright, the prime minister's right-hand man and the power player who cut a $90,000 cheque to cover Sen. Mike Duffy's disallowed housing expenses, resigned his post early Sunday in an effort to douse the flames of a burgeoning Senate scandal.
Wright -- Stephen Harper's wealthy and well-respected chief of staff -- stepped down after a phone conversation with his boss, who followed up the news with a statement of his own, saying that he had grudgingly accepted his lieutenant's decision.
"My actions were intended solely to secure the repayment of funds, which I considered to be in the public interest, and I accept sole responsibility,'' Wright said in a statement.
"I did not advise the prime minister of the means by which Sen. Duffy's expenses were repaid, either before or after the fact.''
The Prime Minister's Office said earlier this week that Wright personally paid off $90,000 in inappropriately claimed housing expenses for Duffy, prompting critics to complain that the bailout violated ethics rules that prohibit senators from accepting gifts.
Wright will be replaced in the chief of staff's role by Ray Novak, who has been by Harper's side since 2001 and is seen as a stable influence in the PMO who's well-known around the cabinet table.
Throughout the fallout prompted by last week's bombshell news that Wright had dipped into his own personal bank account to repay Duffy's debt, the PMO stood firmly by him, insisting that his position remained secure.
In his statement, Wright said he regretted the impact the matter had on the government, the Conservative caucus and all his colleagues.
"I came to Ottawa to do my part in providing good government for Canada, and that is all that I ever wanted and worked for in this role,'' he said.
Harper expressed "great regret'' in Wright's decision.
"I accept that Nigel believed he was acting in the public interest, but I understand the decision he has taken to resign,'' the prime minister said.
"I want to thank Nigel for his tremendous contribution to our government over the past two and a half years.''
Deputy Liberal leader Ralph Goodale said the scandal now rests entirely at the feet of the prime minister.
"The issue is not Wright or Duffy or Wallin; the issue is Stephen Harper,'' Goodale said in a statement.
"The prime minister's wilful blindness is a travesty. All threads lead to him and only he can provide full accountability.''
The ethics commissioner is looking into Wright's repayment of Duffy's expenses. Duffy, a former broadcaster, quit the Conservative caucus late Thursday.
The following day, Sen. Pamela Wallin -- also a former CTV personality -- announced she was leaving the Conservative caucus. Her travel expenses, which totalled more than $321,000 since September 2010, have been the subject of an external audit since December.
Meanwhile, two other senators are also facing demands that they repay improper housing expense claims -- and both are fighting back.
Sen. Mac Harb was deemed to owe $51,482 in housing-related expenses, a finding that prompted him to quit the Liberal caucus and sit as an independent.
Sen. Patrick Brazeau -- kicked out of the Conservative caucus after he was charged in February with assault and sexual assault -- was assessed $48,744.
A spokesman for the prime minister has said neither Harb nor Brazeau was offered the same financial assistance as Duffy.
Wright's official statement:
In light of the controversy surrounding my handling of matters involving Senator Duffy, the Prime Minister has accepted my resignation as Chief of Staff.
My actions were intended solely to secure the repayment of funds, which I considered to be in the public interest, and I accept sole responsibility. I did not advise the Prime Minister of the means by which Sen. Duffy's expenses were repaid, either before or after the fact.
I regret the impact of this matter on the Government, our Caucus, and all of my colleagues, for whom I have the highest regard. I came to Ottawa to do my part in providing good government for Canada, and that is all that I ever wanted and worked for in this role.
The Prime Minister has also issued a statement on Wright's resignation:
It is with great regret that I have accepted the resignation of Nigel Wright as my Chief of Staff. I accept that Nigel believed he was acting in the public interest, but I understand the decision he has taken to resign. I want to thank Nigel for his tremendous contribution to our Government over the past two and a half years.
Our Government's top priority is, and will continue to be, securing jobs and economic growth for Canada. This is the focus of all our efforts and attention.
A Harvard-educated Bay Street lawyer and banker, Wright took a leave of absence from a managing director gig at private equity giant Onex Corp to become Harper’s right-hand man in 2010.
Wright got into hot water this week after it was revealed that he personally wrote a $90,000 cheque to scandal-plagued senator Mike Duffy.
Tory MP Pierre Poilievre defended Wright's actions protected Canadian taxpayers.
"So what we have here is that Nigel Wright did an exceptionally honourable thing. He reached in to his own resources, wrote a personal cheque out of his own bank account to cover the costs of these ineligible expenses and to protect taxpayers," he told CBC.
Wright's actions drew strong condemnation from the Opposition.
"We can't trust the Senate; obviously the Senate has no credibility on this. We can't trust the prime minister's word," NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus said earlier this week.
"But we can't allow this to be swept under the carpet because this looks and smells like a cash payout from the Prime Minister's Office. This is as about as serious as it gets," he said.
Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca
Author: CP
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