OTTAWA 鈥� The RCMP have laid charges of fraud and breach of trust against former senator Mac Harb and suspended senator Patrick Brazeau. Here is an updated timeline of events in the Senate expenses scandal:
June 13, 2012: Auditor general Michael Ferguson releases a study of Senate expense claims; in some cases Senate administration didn鈥檛 have the right documents to support claims for travel and living expenses.
Nov. 21, 2012: Senate committee asked to examine housing allowance for Conservative Sen. Patrick Brazeau, who lists a home in Maniwaki, Que., as his primary residence despite appearing to live full-time within a 100-kilometre radius of Ottawa.
Dec. 3, 2012: Similar questions raised about Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy, who claims a primary residence in P.E.I. despite being a longtime Ottawa resident.
Dec. 4, 2012: Duffy says he got an email from Nigel Wright, the prime minister鈥檚 chief of staff, saying it appeared that Duffy鈥檚 residence expenses complied with the rules.
Dec. 6, 2012: The Senate widens its audit of housing expenses to include Liberal Sen. Mac Harb, who claims a home near Pembroke, Ont., as his primary residence, and begins examining residence claims of all senators, who are constitutionally bound to live in the provinces they represent.
Feb. 5, 2013: Reports emerge that Duffy applied for a P.E.I. health card in December 2012 and that he does not receive a resident tax credit for his home on the island.
Feb. 8, 2013: Senate hires external auditing firm to review Brazeau, Duffy and Harb鈥檚 claims.
Feb. 11, 2013: According to Duffy, he meets Wright in the Langevin Block, which houses the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office, to set up a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper later in the week. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I first heard about it and immediately voiced my objections to this fake pay-back scheme,鈥� Duffy says.
Feb. 13, 2013: The date Duffy says he meets Harper and Wright after a Conservative caucus meeting. Harper tells Duffy he must repay questioned housing expenses. 鈥淭he prime minister agreed I had not broken the rules but insisted I pay the money back, money I didn鈥檛 owe, because the Senate鈥檚 rules are, in his words, 鈥檌nexplicable to our base,鈥濃�� Duffy says.
Feb. 21, 2013: Duffy agrees to follow what he later describes as a PMO-drafted plan to cover up the source of the $90,000, including a story that he borrowed the money from RBC. 鈥淥n Feb. 21, after all of the threats and intimidation, I reluctantly agreed to go along with this dirty scheme,鈥� he says.
Feb. 22, 2013: Claiming confusion with the rules, Duffy pledges to pay back the expenses. 鈥淢y wife and I discussed it and we decided that in order to turn the page to put all of this behind us, we are going to voluntarily pay back my living expenses related to the house we have in Ottawa.鈥�
Feb. 27, 2013: Prime Minister Stephen Harper says all senators meet the requirement that they live in the area they were appointed to represent.
Feb. 28, 2013: Senate audit fails to turn up any questionable housing allowance claims beyond those of Brazeau, Harb and Duffy.
Late February, 2013: Duffy says he was under increasing pressure to pay his expenses or be tossed from the Senate. 鈥淚 said:
鈥橧 don鈥檛 believe I owe anything, and besides which, I don鈥檛 have $90,000.鈥� 鈥橠on鈥檛 worry,鈥� Nigel said, 鈥橧鈥檒l write the cheque.鈥濃��
He also says a carefully drafted agreement was to protect him: 鈥淎n undertaking was made by the PMO, with the agreement of the Senate leadership, that I would not be audited by Deloitte, that I鈥檇 be given a pass, and further, that if this phoney scheme ever became public, Sen. LeBreton 鈥� the leader of the government of the day 鈥� would whip the Conservative caucus to prevent my expulsion from the chamber.鈥�
Mar. 22, 2013: Duffy obtains a loan for $91,600 from the Royal Bank. He then pays $80,000 on his line of credit.
Mar. 25, 2013: Wright sent a bank draft for $90,172.24 to the office of Duffy鈥檚 lawyer.
Mar. 26, 2013: $90,172.24 was transferred to Duffy鈥檚 RBC bank account, and his cheque for $90,172.24 was delivered to Sen. Tkachuk. The cheque cleared Duffy鈥檚 bank on Mar. 28.
April 19, 2013: Duffy confirms he has repaid more than $90,000 in Senate housing expenses. 鈥淚 have always said that I am a man of my word. In keeping with the commitment I made to Canadians, I can confirm that I repaid these expenses in March 2013.鈥�
May 9, 2013: Senate releases report into housing claims, along with Deloitte audit. Deloitte says three senators live in Ottawa area, but that the rules and guidelines are unclear, making it difficult to say categorically that anyone broke the rules. Harb and Brazeau are ordered to repay $51,000 and $48,000, respectively. Harb says he will fight the decision.
May 10, 2013: Conservative House leader Peter Van Loan says of Duffy: 鈥淗e showed the kind of leadership that we would like to see from Liberal Sen. Mac Harb, who instead is taking up arms against the Senate, saying that he should not have to pay back inappropriate funds.鈥�
May 12, 2013: RCMP says it will examine Senate expense claims.
May 14, 2013: Brazeau says he also broke no rules and is exploring all options to overturn an order to pay the money back.
May 15, 2013: The Prime Minister鈥檚 Office confirms that Wright personally footed the bill for Duffy鈥檚 housing expenses because Duffy couldn鈥檛 make a timely payment.
May 16, 2013: Duffy resigns from Conservative caucus.
May 17, 2013: Sen. Pamela Wallin also announces she鈥檚 leaving the Conservative caucus. Her travel expenses, which totalled more than $321,000 since September 2010, have been the subject of an external audit since December.
May 19, 2013: Wright announces his resignation as Harper鈥檚 chief of staff, a move Harper says he accepts with 鈥済reat regret.鈥� Wright is replaced in the chief of staff鈥檚 role by Ray Novak, who has been by Harper鈥檚 side since 2001. In October, Harper says Wright was 鈥渄ismissed.鈥�
June 3, 2013: Sen. Marjory LeBreton, the Conservative leader in the Senate, says she intends to ask the auditor general to look into all the expenses of the upper chamber. LeBreton says she will introduce a motion calling for a comprehensive audit of expenses.
June 6, 2013: Conservative and Liberal senators agree to invite the auditor general to scrutinize the way they spend taxpayers鈥� money. The same day, Harper tells the Commons that Wright paid the $90,000 with his own money:听 鈥淢r. Wright wrote a cheque on his own personal account and gave it to Mr. Duffy so he could repay his expenses. He told me about it on May 15. He obviously regrets that action. He has said it was an error in judgment and he will face the consequences as a consequence.鈥�
June 13, 2013: The RCMP confirms it has launched a formal investigation into the involvement of Nigel Wright in the Senate expense scandal. Brazeau and Harb are given 30 days to reimburse taxpayers for their disallowed living expenses 鈥� bills that together total more than $280,000.
June 19, 2013: RCMP interviews Liberal Sen. George Furey.
June 21, 2013: RCMP interviews Conservative Sen. Carolyn Stewart Olsen.
July 3, 2013: RCMP interviews LeBreton.
July 4, 2013: Media reports say RCMP investigators allege that the Conservative party had planned to repay Duffy鈥檚 improperly claimed living expenses, but balked when the bill turned out nearly three times higher than expected.
July 5, 2013: Harper is accused of misleading Canadians after repeatedly insisting Wright acted on his own when he gave Duffy $90,000 to reimburse his invalid expense claims. The RCMP says in a court document that Wright told three other senior people in the PMO about the transaction.
July 17, 2013: Harper鈥檚 office says it has not been asked by the RCMP for an email at the heart of its criminal investigation into the Senate expenses scandal. The PMO denies withholding the email, which apparently summarizes the deal struck between Duffy and Wright to pay off invalid expense claims.
July 18, 2013: The RCMP interviews Nigel Wright.
July 26, 2013: RCMP interviews Tkachuk and separately interviews David van Hemmen, Wright鈥檚 former executive assistant.
Aug. 13, 2013: The full extent of Wallin鈥檚 questionable expenses are laid bare as the Senate releases a damning audit of her travel claims, calls in the Mounties and orders her to pay back tens of thousands of dollars.
Aug. 21, 2013: Wallin is informed she would have to reimburse the Senate a grand total of $138,970 for ineligible travel expense claims. Wallin was already on the hook for $121,348 after an independent audit of her travel expenses.
Aug. 26, 2013: Harb resigns from the upper chamber. Harb, who earlier left the Liberal party to sit as an independent, drops a lawsuit and pledges to repay his questioned living and expense claims.
Aug. 27, 2013: Two Conservative senators deny allegations that they conspired to cover up the repayment of Duffy鈥檚 expenses. David Tkachuk and Carolyn Stewart Olsen, who both sit on a committee reviewing improper expense claims by senators, were responding to a CTV report that said they pressed Duffy to accept a secret $90,000 cheque from Wright.
Sept. 6, 2013: Wallin is told she had until Sept. 16 to repay tens of thousands of dollars in ineligible travel expenses.
Sept. 11, 2013: RCMP interviews Christopher Montgomery, who was LeBreton鈥檚 director of parliamentary affairs. The Mounties also interviewed Mary McQuaid, Duffy鈥檚 policy adviser.
Sept. 13, 2013: Wallin pays back her dubious travel claims while accusing some fellow senators of succumbing to a 鈥渓ynch mob鈥� mentality. The Saskatchewan senator says she has paid back $100,600, plus interest, on top of $38,000 already repaid.
Sept. 16, 2013: RCMP interviews Conservative Sen. Irving Gerstein, chair of the Conservative Fund.
Sept. 18, 2013: RCMP interviews Senate Clerk Gary O鈥橞rien, as well as Jill Anne Joseph, the Senate administrator who prepared the Senate report on Duffy.
Oct. 8, 2013: RCMP alleges Duffy awarded $65,000 in Senate contracts to Gerald Donahue, a friend and former TV technician, who did little actual work for the money.
Oct. 17, 2013: Claude Carignan, the government鈥檚 new leader in the Senate, introduces motions to suspend Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau from the Senate. The motions call for the three to be stripped of their pay, benefits and Senate resources.
Oct. 18, 2013: Wallin鈥檚 lawyer, Terrence O鈥橲ullivan, says his client is preparing to fight her suspension. O鈥橲ullivan calls the gambit an 鈥渁ffront to Canadian democracy鈥� designed to help the Conservatives change the channel.
Oct. 21, 2013: Duffy鈥檚 lawyer, Donald Bayne, alleges Harper鈥檚 staff and key Conservative senators behind a scheme to have Duffy take the fall for wrongdoing that they agreed he had not committed.
Oct. 22, 2013: In an explosive speech in the Senate chamber, Duffy accuses Harper鈥檚 office of orchestrating a 鈥漨onstrous fraud鈥� aimed at snuffing out controversy over his expenses. Duffy accuses the prime minister of being more interested in appeasing his Conservative base than the truth.
Oct. 23, 2013: Wallin follows Duffy鈥檚 lead with her own speech in the Senate, describing the suspension motion against her as 鈥渂aseless and premature鈥� and designed 鈥渢o remove a perceived liability, namely me.鈥�
Oct. 25, 2013: Brazeau drops a bombshell of his own, saying Carignan earlier that same day took him aside and offered him 鈥渁 backroom deal鈥�: apologize publicly for his actions in exchange for a lighter punishment. Carignan acknowledges the conversation but described the offer as one made out of 鈥渇riendship.鈥�
Oct. 28, 2013: Duffy delivers again, this time saying the Conservative party made arrangements to cover his $13,560 legal bill. 鈥淭he PMO 鈥� listen to this 鈥� had the Conservative party鈥檚 lawyer, Arthur Hamilton, pay my legal fees,鈥� Duffy says. He also casts doubt on whether Wright actually paid the $90,000: 鈥淚 have never seen a cheque from Nigel Wright.鈥�
Oct. 30, 2013: Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella rules that an attempt to cut off debate on motions to suspend Duffy Wallin and Brazeau from the Senate without pay is out of order. This delays again the effort to suspend the trio.
Nov. 1, 2013: Documents filed in court by the RCMP explicitly allege Wallin 鈥渄id commit breach of trust in connection with the duties of office鈥� and 鈥渂y deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means defrauded the Senate of sa国际传媒 of money by filing inappropriate expense claims,鈥� contrary to the Criminal Code. The documents include a request for several versions of Wallin鈥檚 electronic Senate calendar, citing them as further evidence that could back up the allegations.
Nov. 4, 2013: Brazeau addresses the Senate chamber for what he acknowledges could be the last time, making an emotional appeal for senators to reconsider his case. At one point, he addresses his children: 鈥淚t is very important that you understand that I am not guilty of what some of these people are accusing me of.... I am not a thief, a scammer, a drunken Indian, a drug addict, a failed experiment or a human tragedy.鈥�
Nov. 5, 2013: A Nov. 1 letter from the RCMP superintendent in charge of the investigation reveals that investigators want copies of emails and documents mentioned by Duffy, including emails from the PMO related to a 鈥渟cript鈥� for Duffy to follow in publicly explaining how he financed repaying the expenses. The documents 鈥渕ay potentially be evidence of criminal wrongdoing by others,鈥� the letter reads.
Nov. 5, 2013: Senators finally vote to suspend Brazeau, Duffy and Wallin without pay 鈥� but with health, dental and life insurance benefits intact 鈥� for the remainder of the parliamentary session, a duration that could last two years.
Nov. 20, 2013: Documents filed in court by the RCMP allege Wright committed three offences under the Criminal Code between Feb. 6 and Mar. 28 by cutting Duffy a cheque for $90,000. Wright, through his lawyer, sends the following statement: 鈥淢y intention was always to secure repayment of funds owed to taxpayers. I acted within the scope of my duties and remain confident that my actions were lawful. I have no further comment at this time.鈥�
Jan. 29: Liberal leader Justin Trudeau expels the 32 Liberal senators from his caucus in what he calls an effort to reduce partisanship in the upper chamber. He says if he becomes prime minister he would appoint only independent senators, chosen through an open public process.
Feb. 4: The RCMP lay charges of fraud and breach of trust against Harb and Brazeau.
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