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August 14th, 2015

NDP REALITY CHECK: Harper is also on trial – and a jury 33 million strong is watching

As new revelations come to light about the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Ray Novak’s role in the scandal, Stephen Harper continues changing his story.

But here’s what Stephen Harper said in the House of Commons under questioning by Tom Mulcair.

HANSARD October 24, 2013 Hon. Thomas Mulcair (Leader of the Opposition, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians in the House on June 5 that no one else in his entourage knew and yesterday he said just the opposite. On Tuesday, Mike Duffy said: I was called at home in Cavendish by Ray Novak…The deal was off. How could Mr. Novak threaten to cancel a deal that the Prime Minister told the House Mr. Novak knew nothing about? Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP insists on taking Mr. Duffy's view that he is somehow a victim in this matter. Mr. Duffy's expense claims were inappropriate… Hon. Thomas Mulcair (Leader of the Opposition, NDP): Mr. Speaker…It is about the Prime Minister, and the victims are Canadians. *** HANSARD October 29, 2013 Hon. Thomas Mulcair (Leader of the Opposition, NDP): Mr. Speaker, Mike Duffy says that he was threatened by PMO staffer Ray Novak and by Senator Marjory LeBreton to resign from caucus or be kicked out of the Senate. He was told, “Mike, this is the only option that can ensure your future livelihood”. Is that quote accurate? Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker…The truth of the matter is that Mr. Duffy is in difficulty here because he took expenditures for which we all know he should never have been reimbursed…He worked out a secret arrangement with Mr. Wright, where Mr. Wright repaid them for him….It is why Mr. Wright is out of the job and why Mr. Duffy should also be off the payroll. Hon. Thomas Mulcair (Leader of the Opposition, NDP): Mr. Speaker, it was so secret that 13 people in his office were in on it. I remind the Prime Minister that it is not the NDP that reimbursed the expenses for those totally inappropriate and illegal things Mr. Duffy had done. It is the Conservative Party that reimbursed him… *** HANSARD May 12, 2015 Hon. Thomas Mulcair (Leader of the Opposition, NDP): Mr. Speaker, according to RCMP documents tabled in court, we now know that staff from the Prime Minister's Office ordered Conservative senators to whitewash the audit report on Mike Duffy's expenses. The staff involved the Prime Minister's former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, and his current chief of staff, Ray Novak. Did the Prime Minister know that his staff, including his two former chiefs of staff, falsified a senate audit report? Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker, obviously I do not accept the premise of that question… *** HANSARD May 13, 2015 Hon. Thomas Mulcair (Leader of the Opposition, NDP): Mr. Speaker, when Ray Novak was first appointed chief of staff by the Prime Minister to replace Nigel Wright, the Conservatives swore up and down that he had nothing to do with the Senate scandal. However, now we learn from RCMP documents that Ray Novak did, in fact, know about Nigel Wright's plan to falsify the Duffy audit report. When exactly did Ray Novak tell the Prime Minister that he knew the Duffy report was doctored? Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker, obviously, I do not agree at all with the very selective and creative reading of the material before the courts by the leader of the NDP...

Stephen Harper wants people to believe he’s in control of the economy – but on the Senate his only defence now is that he has no control over his own office.

It is no wonder that more and more Canadians are putting their trust in the NDP to defeat Stephen Harper and bring change to Ottawa.