NDP Urges Prosecutors to Consider Charging Wright in Senate Scandal

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Although the RCMP have not laid even a single charge against the Prime Minister’s former Chief of Staff, Mr. Nigel Wright, in the Senate scandal, the federal New Democrats are not ready to let him off the hook just yet. The NDP’s ethics critic, Charlie Angus, has recently authored a letter that asks the authorities to reconsider Mr. Wright’s role in paying for Mike Duffy’s expenses.

In conclusion of their extensive investigation, the RCMP laid 31 charges against suspended senator Duffy for expense claims deemed inappropriate, which also included bribery charge for accepting a cheque from Wright for $90,000 to pay those expenses off. However, Mr. Wright was not charged at all. According to Angus, this apparent discrepancy needs to be addressed publicly for Canadians. In the letter addressed to the director of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Angus has asked the office to review evidence compiled by the RCMP to determine if any charges can be laid against Wright or any other member of former member of the Prime Minister’s Office under the Parliament of Canada Act, rather than the Criminal Code.

Furthermore, Mr. Angus highlights the court documents weighing in on the role of Wright’s cheque in “Duffy’s compliance … in a larger conspiracy to change a Senate report and interfere with an external audit commissioned by the Senate.” Moreover, Angus urged an explanation over why Wright or anyone else was not charged under section 16 of the Parliament Act, which states no senator “shall receive or agree to receive any compensation” relating to any “bill, proceeding, contract, claim, controversy.”