OTTAWA — The police investigation into the Senate expenses scandal grew wider Thursday with the release of court documents that indicate the Mounties are now looking into a second senator. Documents released from the Ottawa courthouse show the RCMP’s Sensitive and International Investigations unit has obtained property records for a house in Cobden, Ont., once owned by Sen. Mac Harb. The court documents mark the first acknowledgment that the RCMP is investigating Harb. The name “Project Amble” is written under the heading “Nature of Event” on the exhibit report. It’s unclear if the name refers only to the Harb investigation or to the Senate probe more broadly.Harb, a Liberal who now sits as an independent, is among the senators in trouble for improperly claimed living expenses. He was initially ordered to repay $51,500, but his tab increased nearly five-fold after Senate officials were subsequently asked to review his expenses dating back eight years. Harb has been given 30 days to reimburse taxpayers to the tune of $231,649.07. Harb insists he’s done nothing wrong and has vowed to fight the matter in court, which could suspend efforts to get the money back. The RCMP is also combing through the campaign returns of 11 Conservative candidates for whom Sen. Mike Duffy campaigned during the last federal election, the court documents show.The documents indicate Elections Canada handed over the campaign returns to the RCMP on June 5. The RCMP asked Elections Canada for candidate files on Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver and current Conservative MPs Gerald Keddy, Greg Kerr, John Carmichael and Wladyslaw Lizon, among others. Reports filed by Const. Jane Won Kyung Lee show the RCMP also obtained a DVD containing Duffy’s declarations of primary and secondary residence, expense claims, minutes of the Senate’s internal economy committee from May 28 and a report by the committee clerk from that same day. The Mounties have also obtained a second DVD containing more expense claims. Duffy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The RCMP has also confirmed it has launched a formal investigation into the involvement of Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff. Wright resigned as Harper’s chief of staff last month after acknowledging he gave $90,000 to Duffy to enable him to reimburse the Senate for improperly claimed living expenses. The Canadian Press
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 16:31:40 +0000
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