Blog Posts by Andy Radia

James Moore in Parliament

If there was any doubt: Conservative MP James Moore says that he isn't launching a campaign for the Conservative Party leadership.

[ Related: Nigel Wright, PM's top aide resigns: Is the government in crisis? ]

Speculation — or perhaps amusement — about Moore doing so started Saturday when the Twittersphere noticed that he had launched a sharp new website separate from his MP website.

Heritage Minister James Moore has set up something uncannily similar to a leadership campaign website. jamesmoore.org/frontpage/ #cdnpoli #CPC

— Luke Savage (@LukewSavage) May 19, 2013

Does Jason Kenney know? @natnewswatch: Interesting... @jamesmoore_orghas launched a new website jamesmoore.org — Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) May 19, 2013

And then on Sunday, a new 'James Moore Leadership Campaign' Facebook page popped-up.

That was the impetus of even more Twitter chatter:

Anyone have any idea why there is a James Moore CPC Leadership Campaign facebook page? #cdnpoli facebook.com/JamesMooreLead…

— Brad Rubinoff

Nigel WrightAnother one bites the dust.

Nigel Wright, Stephen Harper's chief of staff, has become the latest Conservative causality in the ongoing Senate expense saga.

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister's Office admitted that Wright personally funded Senator Mike Duffy’s repayment of more than $90,000 in improperly-claimed living expenses.

On Thursday, Duffy resigned from the Tory caucus over the scandal. On Friday Senator Pamela Wallin — who is still being audited for her travel expense claims — followed suit.

And on Sunday, Wright resigned from the PMO.

"My actions were intended solely to secure the repayment of funds, which I considered to be in the public interest, and I accept sole responsibility," Wright said in a statement according to the Canadian Press.

"I did not advise the prime minister of the means by which Sen. Duffy's expenses were repaid, either before or after the fact."

[ Related: PM's deep-pocketed chief of staff quits amid Duffy fallout ]

No one should shed a tear for Wright, a

Stephen Harper (Patrick Doyle,Canadian Press)

UPDATE: The prime minister's chief of staff, Nigel Wright, has announced early on Sunday morning that he is stepping down following the controversy with Mike Duffy.  

On Friday, Senator Pamela Wallin excused herself from the Conservative caucus becoming the third scandal-plagued Tory senator to be pushed out in recent months.

According to Post Media News, Stephen Harper is "losing his patience" at the ongoing tumult.

Cue the cheesy 1980s sitcom laugh track.

Harper is the one who handpicked the three maligned senators — Wallin, Mike Duffy, and Patrick Brazeau — not because of their service to community or intellect but for their loyal partisanship.

What the heck did he expect? It's time that he takes responsibility for the senate shenanigans.

[ Related: Sen. Pamela Wallin latest to leave Conservative caucus ]

Ironically, for much of his adult life, Harper spent a lot of time publicly slamming the red chamber.

We've all heard his quotes. The Regina Leader-Post's Murray Mandryk recently did a

(Interview starts at 13:08)

In recent months, we've seen Stephen Harper conduct more long-form interviews.

It's actually a smart strategy: In these types of interviews, the prime minister comes across very intelligent, articulate and personable.

In his most recent Q & A interview — at an address to the Council of Foreign Relations on Thursday in New York City — Harper talked about why President Obama should approve the Keystone XL pipeline, about what keeps him up at night and about greater economic integration with the United States.

If you don't have an hour to spend to watch the whole video above, here are some of the highlights of what he had to say.

About balancing environmental concerns with the development of the oil sands:

Oil sands -- first of all, one needs to put this in a global perspective. Less than one-tenth of 1 percent of global emissions are in the oil sands. And so it -- it's, you know, almost nothing globally.

We've had a 25 percent reduction over the past decade or so in

Mike Duffy's troubles continue to mount.

CBC News is reporting that the Senate Finance Committee may again review Duffy's expenses following a Canadian Press story which alleged that he was claiming Senate expenses while campaigning for the Conservatives in 2011.

"In light of yesterday's media reports regarding Senator Duffy's expense claims, senators will be asking that the report concerning Senator Duffy be referred back to committee for further examination taking into account this new information," a spokesperson for Marjory LeBreton, leader of the government in the Senate, told CBC.

Duffy was forced to resign from the Conservative caucus Thursday evening after it was learned that Nigel Wright, the prime minister's chief of staff, personally funded Duffy's repayment of $90,000 in improperly-claimed living expenses.

[ Related: Senator Mike Duffy resigns from the Conservative caucus ]

Duffy's resignation will serve as a brief respite for the Tories, who were undoubtedly feeling the public

On Thursday evening, the much-maligned Senator released this statement:

"It is clear the public controversy surrounding me and the repayment of my Senate expenses has become a significant distraction to my caucus colleagues, and to the government," Duffy said in a statement according to the Globe and Mail.

"Given that my presence within the Conservative caucus only contributes to that distraction, I have decided to step outside of the caucus and sit as an independent Senator pending resolution of these questions.

"Throughout this entire situation I have sought only to do the right thing. I look forward to all relevant facts being made clear in due course, at which point I am hopeful I will be able to rejoin the Conservative caucus. This has been a difficult time for me and my family, and we are going to take some time away from the public. I ask the media to respect our privacy while these questions are resolved through the appropriate

Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaks during a business round table at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, May 16, 2013.The Harper government is going all out in its attempts to convince the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline project.

It seems, however, that the environmentalists are fighting back pound for pound.

On Thursday, Stephen Harper was in New York City addressing the Council on Foreign Relations — an influential foreign policy think tank — where he spoke about the importance of the controversial pipeline which would transport up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day from northern Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico.

[ Related: Environmentalists’ worst nightmare: Majority of Canadians, Americans support Keystone XL pipeline ]

"This is an enormous benefit to the U.S. in terms of long-term energy security," Harper said, according to CBC News.

"I think this absolutely needs to go ahead but you can rest assured that making our emissions target including in the oilsands is an important objective for the government of Canada."

Harper told the crowd that greenhouse emissions from the oilsands

Senator Mike Duffy leaving a meeting on Parliament Hill last weekWhat you do with a problem like Mike Duffy?

That's the question that Conservative insiders are invariably asking themselves today.

With it being 2 years before an election, with Justin Trudeau emerging on the national scene and after 7 years in office this is a problem that the Tories don't need.

At the risk of hyperbole, if it's allowed to continue without some sort of action, the Duffy/Wright 'scandal' could essentially be the end of the Conservative government.

[ Related: PM’s chief of staff wrote personal cheque to repay Mike Duffy’s Senate expenses ]

Let's put this into perspective: The prime minister's right hand man has loaned or gifted an government official $90,000 to reimburse taxpayers for falsely claiming a government benefit. Moreover, none of the terms of the deal have been made public.

The Tories have concocted an unbelievable tale that Duffy and Wright are buddies so the latter just gifted him $90,000 without telling the prime minister. The story might be true but it sounds