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March 3rd, 2015

NDP REALITY CHECK: Good afternoon PMO, how are all those subpoenas going?

“The facts here are very clear. Mr. Wright decided to take an action on his own initiative, using his own funds.” – Stephen Harper, House of commons, October 22nd, 2013 “He [Nigel Wright] acted alone” – Conservative minister James Moore, June 11th, 2013

Remember when Tom Mulcair grilled Stephen Harper and the Conservatives for months and all he got from the government was lies and bizarre evasions like that?

It was months before the real story started emerging about the large number of Conservatives involved in this scandal and months before we learned of Nigel Wright’s email saying “We are good to go from the PM”.

So, while the PMO and Conservative MPs begin getting served their subpoenas, and Canadians get one step closer to hearing from Conservatives – under oath – about their involvement in the Senate scandal and PMO cover-up, let’s review who we know was “in the loop” on this sordid affair.

  • Former Stephen Harper Chief of Staff Nigel Wright (Source: RCMP court documents, countless Conservatives admissions of his role)
  • Current Stephen Harper Chief of Staff Ray Novak (Source: Mike Duffy testimony in the Senate, 22/10/2013)
  • Current Stephen Harper Deputy Chief of Staff Jenni Byrne (Source: CTV report, 22/10/2013)
  • Former PMO staffer Chris Woodcock (Source: RCMP court documents filed on 24/06/2013)
  • Executive Assistant to Stephen Harper Chief of Staff Nigel Wright, David van Hemmen (Source: RCMP documents filed on 24/06/2013)
  • PMO staffer Patrick Rogers (Source: CTV report, 22/10/2013)
  • Former PMO lawyer Benjamin Perrin (Source: RCMP court documents filed on 24/06/2013)
  • An additional unnamed PMO lawyer (Source: Mike Duffy testimony in the Senate, 22/10/2013)
  • Former PMO staffer and current Senator Carolyn Stewart-Olsen (Source: Mike Duffy testimony in the Senate, 22/10/2013)
  • Former Conservative Leader in the Senate Marjory LeBreton (Source: Mike Duffy testimony in the Senate, 22/10/2013)
  • Senator Irving Gerstein (Source: CTV report, 22/10/2013)
  • Late Senator Doug Finley (Source: CTV report, 22/10/2013)

And don’t forget – the list of witnesses Mike Duffy will be calling in his defence is yet to come.

Canadians deserve better.