OTTAWA — Media reports say a top former adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper helped direct lucrative federal contracts to a company that employed his 22-year-old live-in girlfriend.
The reports stemmed from a story by the Aboriginal People’s Television Network that Bruce Carson lobbied the Department of Indian Affairs for water contracts on behalf of H20 Pros, a company that employed his fiance, Michele McPherson.
The APTN story spread quickly Thursday night. Major media outlets like the CBC, CTV and the Globe and Mail ran the story. The revelations also generated considerable chatter on Twitter.
McPherson was allegedly promised 20 per cent of gross revenues on sales of water contracts to First Nations reserves.
The APTN report is based on a copy of the contract, which it discovered during an investigation into Carson and his work with H2O Pros, which was seeking to sell water filtration systems to First Nations communities.
Allegations of influence peddling against Carson have already been referred to the RCMP by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Carson told the network that he witnessed the contract being signed between H2O Pros and McPherson. “I didn’t sign it ... I witnessed it,” he said.
H20 Pro lists a Michelle McPherson as a member of its management team on the company’s website.
Carson, 68, and McPherson share a $400,000 home on a two-acre lot south of Ottawa that was purchased in December, according to the network.
Harper’s office called the RCMP on Wednesday after learning of the allegations against Carson, who was one of the prime minister’s closest advisers from the time the Conservative government came to power in 2006 until 2008.
Carson who is not a registered lobbyist is alleged to have approached Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the minister’s office on behalf of H2O Pros.
A spokeswoman for Indian Affairs Minister John Duncan said Thursday that while the minister had not met directly with Carson, Duncan’s staff had met with him on one occasion.
“Mr. Carson briefed the staff on the proposed water project,” Michelle Yao said in an email. “Staff provided publicly available information to Bruce Carson and recommended he work directly with First Nations.”
The prime minister was attending events just outside of Toronto on Thursday and did not take questions from reporters. On Wednesday night, Harper’s director of communications Dimitri Soudas wouldn’t detail the specific allegations, but did say Harper has “never met with, been spoken to or been lobbied by” Carson regarding the alleged activities.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says the allegations speak to the “serious ethical lapses” of the Harper government.
“This is raising fundamental questions about whether Stephen Harper can be trusted with power,” Ignatieff said, also pointing to two possible cases of contempt of Parliament.
It’s the second time this week the Conservative government has asked the Mounties to investigate a former staffer. The first was a former cabinet aide whom the Information Commissioner found had interfered in Access to Information requests.
“It’s unprecedented to see a government face two RCMP investigations in the space of a week,” said Liberal House Leader David McGuinty.
“This Conservative regime is in an ethical tailspin — facing charges of breaking election laws, allegations of misleading Parliament and hiding costs from Canadians, and now an RCMP investigation into selling access to the PMO.”
Ignatieff said the Carson allegations are critical because of Carson’s key role in Harper’s camp.
“He was in the centre of the Harper machine and we feel that these are serious accusations,” Ignatieff said Thursday at an event in Hamilton.
The RCMP said in a statement it acknowledges it received a referral of the Carson matter from Harper, and that the Mounties “may or may not initiate an investigation” after the information is evaluated.
APTN said it obtained an email sent by Carson to executives at the water company in which he claimed advance knowledge of Duncan’s appointment to cabinet.
“I spoke with the PM last nite (sic) and with (Assembly of First Nations national Chief Shawn) Atleo — the movement of John Duncan to INAC does not slow anything down,” wrote Carson, in an email dated Aug. 6 and received at 7:01 a.m. “Both Shawn and I know John very well — and I will be calling the new Minister this morning — so it is still full steam ahead.”
The network said Carson told them on camera that he lied in the email, and that he had spoken to “someone,” although he did not elaborate. Carson does not appear in the registry of lobbyists.
Carson worked directly alongside Harper almost continuously from his time in opposition until leaving the prime minister’s office nearly two years ago. He had the reputation in the Prime Minister’s Office as being one of the few advisers who could look Harper in the eye and flatly disagree with his assessment of a situation. Former insiders say it was a valuable and rare quality in the Harper PMO.
“He’s one of the most trusted, senior advisers to the prime minister,” said New Democrat Pat Martin.
When asked for his comments on the allegations Carson’s reply came in the form of a statement sent by the University of Calgary. Carson left the prime minister’s office in 2009 to become executive director of the Canada School of Energy and Environment, which is affiliated with the university.
“Out of respect for this process, the Office of the Prime Minister, and the many business and community leaders with whom I work, I will be taking a leave of absence effective immediately from all of my professional responsibilities until the investigation is concluded,” he said.
Carson also offered to step down from an Alberta oilsands monitoring panel, which was accepted by provincial Environment Minister Rob Renner said Erin Carrier, a spokeswoman for Alberta Environment.
“He (Renner) had the time to consider, weigh the benefits he had decided that it would be best to accept Mr. Carson’s offer to take this leave of absence from the panel.”
Carson added that he had retained legal counsel and was unable to comment further.