Liberals demand to know why Stephen Harper chose convicted fraudster Bruce Carson as his right-hand man

April 4, 2011

MALPEQUE, PEI– Following new revelations about the checkered history of Bruce Carson, Stephen Harper’s former Chief of Staff, the Liberal Party of Canada is demanding to know how a man with five fraud convictions managed to get a job in the highest political office in the land, handling sensitive international files and meeting with world leaders.

“Stephen Harper is now denying he knew anything about Mr. Carson’s past, but that is simply not credible,” said Liberal Malpeque candidate Wayne Easter. “Mr. Carson’s entire criminal record – including five fraud convictions – were disclosed when a PMO security check was done on him. It is simply not believable that Mr. Harper would hire someone as his Acting Chief of Staff, his senior advisor, without knowing the details of this check.

“Stephen Harper is showing once again why he’s the undisputed king of patronage. He puts the interests of his cronies – no matter how shady they are – ahead of what’s best for the country.”

Yesterday the Canadian Press revealed that Mr. Carson had been convicted on five counts of fraud in total – three more than previously known. In addition, Mr. Harper would have known about Mr. Carson’s criminal background – but he hired him anyway as one of his closest advisors. Mr. Carson is currently under investigation by the RCMP for influence peddling.

“If what Mr. Carson claims is true – that he fully disclosed everything in his security check – then it’s clear Mr. Harper simply ignored the facts so he could give his friend a job in the PMO,” said Mr. Easter. “Mr. Harper has no one to blame but himself for the influence peddling scandal that is rocking his Conservative government. He should have known better than to hire a convicted fraudster in the first place.

“Once again we see the Conservatives are willing to bend, break and ignore the rules when their friends are involved. It’s just one of multiple scandals that have engulfed his regime that includes charges against his inner circle for breaking Canada’s elections laws, two RCMP investigations, and yet more investigations for patronage and using government resources for political purposes. This kind of contempt for Canadians and democracy is precisely why we need to turn the page on this government.”