Looking deeper. How much was that Senate seat worth to Duffy? About $1.3 million

An important aspect of the PMO’s deal with Mike Duffy was about ensuring the Senator kept his seat even though he rarely was in PEI and lived in Kanata.

This was the most valuable part of the deal. Mike Duffy stood to lose $1.3 million in Senate salary over nine years if his fellow Senators concluded he wasn’t a resident of PEI—not a longshot given he only lived there 62 days a year.

On February 21st, Janice Payne listed public support from the PMO on Duffy keeping his Senate seat as Point #2 in her deal memo:

“There will also be a written acknowledgement that Senator Duffy meets and has always met all requirements necessary to sit as the Senator from PEI.”

On February 22nd, Nigel Wright wrote to Ben Perrin:

“I have been specific with Sen. Duffy that a ‘senior government source’ will make a statement on the day of [Duffy’s] statement to the effect that there is no doubt he is qualified to sit as a Senator from PEI the PM will also give this answer if asked, as will other authorized spokespeople for the Government.”

So, was the commitment followed up on? Tune in to Question Period to find out more.