The CBC's comprehensive report on Stephen Harper's announcement of an independent review of the Mulroney affair does contain one new tidbit.
A bit of new information, in fact, that goes a long way toward explaining the change of heart that led to Mr. Harper's reversal of his previous refusal to pursue the scandalous matter further.
Apparently, Mr. Harper has now been personally connected with the matter:
In an affidavit filed Thursday in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice, Schreiber alleges he negotiated a $300,000 lobbying deal with Mulroney at the prime minister's Harrington Lake retreat in Quebec on June 23, 1993 — two days before Mulroney stepped down as prime minister.
The affidavit also alleges a Mulroney adviser asked Schreiber to transfer funds in connection with Air Canada's 1988 purchase of Airbus planes to a Mulroney lawyer based in Switzerland.
... The court papers also drew Harper into the bitter lawsuit for the first time by claiming Mulroney was to meet with the prime minister last summer to discuss the matter, a claim Harper vehemently denied.
"Mr. Mulroney never talked to me about Mr. Schreiber and he never gave me any documents," the prime minister said.
With the Prime Minister's own actions in the spotlight, one wonders whether the investigation ahead is as much an act of election-year self-preservation by Mr. Harper as it is a pursuit of the truth.
If Mr. Mulroney happens to be thrown under the "new Conservative" train by Mr. Harper in the pending investigation, well "c'est la vie," I suppose.
That's politics.
CityNews also has the story:
"I am announcing today that I will be appoint an independent and mpartial third party to review what course of actions may be appropriate given Mr. Schreiber's new sworn allegations," Harper announced.
Schreiber also alleged in court documents that an adviser to Mulroney requested that he transfer funds, in connection with Air Canada's 1988 purchase of Airbus planes, to Mulroney's lawyer in Switzerland.
Harper chose to confront the allegations after court papers filed Thursday claimed he was supposed to meet with Mulroney last summer to discuss the issue - a claim Harper denies.
"My family and I did host the former prime minister and his family for a social occasion at Harrington Lake in August 2006 at our invitation," Harper said. "We did not discuss Mr. Mulroney's dealings with Mr. Schreiber during that visit."
"We can't ignore the allegation," Harper added. "We always have to protect the office of the prime minister."We'll have to see who the Prime Minister appoints to investigate and advise.I suspect there will be much wrangling ahead on how "independent" this probe will be empowered to be.
We'll have to see who the Prime Minister appoints to investigate and advise, but I suspect there will be much wrangling ahead on how "independent" this probe will actually be.
Some are already calling the probe The Harper Whitewash Commission.
- Garry J. Wise, Toronto
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