As the Ottawa trial recesses until after the election, the description of Senator Mike Duffy as a busker is more apt than we thought. A street entertainer such as a busker can hardly save his or her best stunts for the finale. You have to use those better stunts early to capture your audience. And, thinking back over the trial, so far, that connection is clear.
The only thing we are not clear on was the real entertainer Duffy or was it his lawyer Donald Bayne? While Duffy did his thing, Bayne was unrelenting and driven. He earned his fee. It almost makes you wonder, who is paying this bill?
But is Duffy even a bit player in this current election campaign? In the midst of what looks like a developing global recession, does Duffy matter a hill of beans?
Not that Duffy is done. He has just been sent out to play while the court recesses.
And a recess was needed. The Duffy trial has been a distraction. We all know of the intense loyalty of those the Prime Minister anoints as staff. Nigel Wright, the PM’s former chief of staff played the part of the perfect subaltern. He told his story repeatedly and with a straight face. Only a fool would believe him.
And we found out that there are people in the prime minister’s office who sometimes do not read their e-mails. And when the e-mail deals with the most important subject of the day for these sycophants, we might also have a hard time believing that.
What few seem to remember about this trial is that the defendant is a former news reporter, now Senator, who has been charged with being bribed. Nobody is charged with bribing him, but he is charged with accepting a bribe. He is also charged with breaches of trust. It seems that the Senate of Canada is a place operated as a gentlemen’s club and Duffy was in breach of some of those loosely written rules. And to top it off, he has been charged with fraud. And that can be a sticky wicket because the prime minister knew damn well that Duffy made his home in the Ottawa area. Yet it was the prime minister who appointed Duffy to the Senate as coming from Prince Edward Island.
It seems to this commentator that when the trial resumes they can find Nigel Wright guilty of offering a senator a bribe. Then they could find Mr. Harper (no longer prime minister) guilty of fraud. Mr. Harper and Mr. Wright could share a cell.
But, maybe we also need to make the sign bigger: It’s the economy, stupid!
-30-
Copyright 2015 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]