OTTAWA: The top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper abruptly resigned yesterday over his role in an mounting expenses scandal which is threatening to undermine the Conservative government.
Nigel Wright, Harper’s chief of staff, quit after secretly giving a C$90,000 ($87,000) cheque in February to Mike Duffy, a member of the upper Senate chamber, to help him cover living expenses he had improperly claimed.
Opposition legislators said the large cheque broke ethics rules forbidding senators from taking presents and made a mockery of the government’s repeated promises to increase accountability in Ottawa. Duffy, a former national television journalist, resigned from the Conservative caucus. Wright’s departure reflects the pressure Harper is under. Officials told reporters that the chief of staff — who says he did not tell Harper about the cheque — would be staying. Reuters
