XPost: can.politics, ont.politics, bc.politics   
   XPost: ab.politics   
   From: {~_~}@nyet.ca   
      
   globalnews.ca/new  -  April 28, 2014   
      
   ‘Nothing will be hidden’: RCMP says questions about Nigel Wright will be   
   answered   
      
      
   OTTAWA – The lead investigator on the Mike Duffy case says the reasons   
   why the Mounties didn’t charge former chief of staff Nigel Wright will   
   be made public – possibly in court.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   “Once the whole investigative process follows its path, then those   
   reasons will be made public,” RCMP Cpl. Greg Horton told Global News in   
   a brief interview Monday.   
      
   “Nothing will be hidden. It will all be publicly disclosed at some point.”   
      
   In his first public comments since the Senate scandal broke last spring,   
   Horton said the reasons why Wright wasn’t charged are “well-documented”   
   and will be revealed either in court or an access to information request.   
      
   “It’ll come out either through court disclosure or through an ATIP   
   (access to information and privacy) request by somebody down the road,   
   because everything is publicly available at some point once the   
   investigation’s completed,” Horton said, as he left an Ottawa courthouse.   
      
   The RCMP recently announced that Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s   
   former chief of staff, would not be charged following revelations he   
   secretly gave Duffy $90,000 to repay his ineligible Senate expenses.   
      
   But the plea for patience is not good enough for the Official Opposition.   
      
   The NDP has written to RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson, asking for   
   “clarification” as to why the RCMP dropped Wright’s criminal case.   
      
   Charlie Angus, the NDP’s ethics critic, says in a letter sent late last   
   week that it appears Wright potentially breached Section 16 of the   
   Parliament of Canada Act.   
      
   The Act says it is an indictable offence to offer compensation to a   
   member of the Senate in regard to any claim, controversy, arrest, or   
   other matter before the Senate.   
      
   “Like many Canadians, I do not understand how it can be that writing a   
   secret personal payment out of the Prime Minister’s Office to a sitting   
   senator doesn’t contravene the law,” Angus wrote.   
      
   “If Mr. Wright’s actions did not cross this line, the average Canadian   
   is justifiably left wondering where exactly the legal and ethical line   
   is in Ottawa today.”   
      
   Paulson recently defended his investigators’ handling of the   
   Duffy-Wright affair in a letter to the Ottawa Citizen.   
      
   “They have meticulously unpacked and sewn together an incredibly complex   
   set of actions and behaviours into an authoritative account of what   
   happened. In the time-honoured traditions of this police force they did   
   so without fear of prejudice, nor hope of advantage, favour or   
   affection,” Paulson wrote.   
      
   “As the broader investigation remains unresolved and out of respect for   
   the process, I ask Canadians for patience and understanding while we   
   finish our work.”   
      
   Global News reported last week that it is likely Duffy will be charged   
   next month in relation to the Senate spending scandal. The RCMP and   
   provincial Crown prosecutors are reportedly in talks to lay charges   
   against the suspended senator.   
      
   Both Duffy and Wright had been under criminal investigation since last   
   summer for bribery, breach of trust and defrauding the government.   
      
   The RCMP originally indicated it had grounds to believe Wright   
   contravened section 119 of the Criminal Code, which deals with the   
   bribery of judicial officials. The law prohibits anyone from “corruptly”   
   giving or offering a Parliamentarian “any money, valuable consideration,   
   office, place or employment” in respect to anything done or omitted by   
   that person in their official capacity.   
      
   The Mounties later said the evidence “does not support” criminal charges   
   against Wright.   
      
   Sources said the RCMP told Wright he may be called as a witness in a   
   future proceeding, but there was no bargaining with police over charges   
   and no deal regarding his testimony.   
      
   Wright maintains his intention was always to secure the repayment of   
   taxpayer funds, and says his actions were in the public interest and lawful.   
      
   Democracy Watch, a nonpartisan watchdog group, recently announced it is   
   considering private prosecution against Wright for his role in giving   
   Duffy money to repay his expenses.   
      
   Co-founder Duff Conacher, an adjunct professor at the University of   
   Toronto Faculty of Law, said he plans to proceed with an independent   
   charge against Wright very soon – although it can be quashed by the   
   provincial attorney general.   
      
   He called on the Crown and RCMP to explain why they believe Wright   
   didn’t break the law.   
      
   “How is it in the public interest to keep the prosecutor’s reasons, and   
   the RCMP’s reasons, secret?” said Conacher.   
      
   When asked about the watchdog group’s concerns, Horton said, “I can’t   
   comment on Democracy Watch.”   
      
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