Stephen, Bruce and "Leanna!"
___________________________________________________
Harper felt betrayed after ex-PMO aide tied to lobbying allegations: sources
Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press
Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press
March 24, 2011
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper felt personally betrayed after one of his former close advisers got into trouble over allegations of illegal lobbying, according to multiple sources at the most senior levels of government.
They say Harper brought Bruce Carson into his office when the Conservatives came to power believing that the disbarred and once-jailed ex-lawyer (emphasis ours) had paid his debt to society and deserved a chance at rebuilding his life.
But Harper's sympathy did not extend as far as considering Carson for the job as his chief of staff.
"He was lobbying for the chief's job, trying to line up support with people he thought might have some influence with the prime minister but there was no way he was going to get that job and they put a stop to his lobbying very quickly," said a high-level Conservative.
The prime minister was well aware of Carson's past. The Law Society of Upper Canada disbarred Carson in 1981, and he served time in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of defrauding clients.
Minutes from a July 16, 1981, meeting of the society's discipline committee explain why Carson was disbarred.
Their report "found that the solicitor was guilty of professional misconduct."
"He had forged the signature of the president of a corporation and misappropriated over $15,000 belonging to the corporation for which he acted," the document says.
"(He) forged the signature of a client from whom he misappropriated over $4,000; and misappropriated $4,900 belonging to another client."
Carson has a long track record as a survivor. He reinvented himself as a constitutional expert and became a Conservative researcher during the 1980s and '90s. When the Progressive Conservatives were reduced to two seats in the 1993 election and party jobs were extremely scarce, he managed to convince several Conservative senators to pool their research budgets together and hire him as their researcher.
He went to work for Harper when he became leader of the Opposition in 2004.
Carson remained with Harper after the Conservatives won the 2006 election. Around political Ottawa, he was known as "the Mechanic" for his ability to fix tricky situations.
The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network aired an investigation into Carson's alleged lobbying on behalf of an Ottawa-based water company that employed his girlfriend.
Harper's feelings of betrayal might explain why the Prime Minister's Office so swiftly called in the RCMP to investigate the allegations against Carson.
The matter was also referred to the office of the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner and the commissioner of lobbying.
The allegations revolve around a company called H2O Global Group's plan to sell water-filtration systems to reserves with water-quality problems.
Carson's 22-year-old girlfriend, Michele McPherson, signed a contract with the company last August 31 that would entitle her to 20 per cent of the project's gross sales, APTN reported.
But in a prepared statement released Thursday, McPherson said that contract was cancelled last month and her new deal is tied to "performance measures."
McPherson also acknowledged her past work in the "sex trade." APTN had reported that she worked as an Ottawa escort who went by the name Leanna VIP.
"As a young adolescent I faced some difficult challenges, I was recruited into the sex trade. As a vulnerable minor at the time it became extremely difficult to try and escape this," McPherson said.
"I have worked very hard to leave this trade and to do something different. I am not in this trade at all and have not been for some time."
Postings on adult websites suggest McPherson's moonlighting as an escort continued during the period she was signing the H20 contract toward the end of August.
On August 16, just two weeks before she signed the deal, "Leanna" posted a message on the Canadian Escort Recommendation Board.
"Hi Gentlemen, I will be excepting (sic) bookings this Tuesday and Wednesday for both in and out calls .... This being the last two days, I have decided to do something different in my personal life and will only be offering only out calls from now on ... And only part time ..."
But although she was moving toward a career change, it appears she didn't make a clean break.
"It's not often that I get to overnight in Ottawa, but as luck would have it, I had the opportunity a few weeks back to see Leanna," someone called latvian142 wrote on the Erotic Review website last September.
"A few email exchanges and we were able to set the date, this whole process with Leanna was effortless and enjoyable. We continued corresponding up to the date, discussing items such as dinner arrangements, wine preferences and so on."
But on Thursday, McPherson suggested someone else was behind the posting.
"I am shocked that someone has re-activated this information," she said, "and I question why someone would do something so cruel."
"I cannot even begin to express how emotionally hurt I am with this as there are no words to explain how I feel," she added. "This has affected my life, my family and people I care about deeply."
One of those people was the 65-year-old Carson, who APTN said met with Indian Affairs officials and senior political staff to push the water-filtration venture.
H20 Global Group has released a statement saying Carson never did any lobbying for the company.
"Mr. Bruce Carson has never lobbied for the company and has simply provided advice to assist us in understanding the process."
Carson has said little since the first APTN story aired. But details of his meetings have slowly emerged.
A spokesman for Environment Minister Peter Kent said Carson broached the topic of water issues in First Nations communities when he met the minister last month.
But the spokesman added Carson wasn't lobbying the minister on any company's behalf.
Carson also met senior political staff in the office of Indian Affairs Minister John Duncan on January 11 of this year to discuss the company and a First Nations water filtration project, officials in Duncan's office said.
Duncan's office said the January meeting involved Kym Purchase, the minister's director of policy, and Ted Yeomans, his director of parliamentary affairs.
Yeomans is a former assistant to MP Pierre Poilievre, Harper's parliamentary secretary.
"Mr. Carson briefed the staff on the proposed water project," Michelle Yao, Duncan's director of communications, said in an email. "Staff provided publicly available information to Bruce Carson and recommended he work directly with First Nations."
Yao described the meeting as standard practice. "Minister's staff regularly attend meetings with individuals and stakeholders," she said.
Carson also met Indian Affairs officials four times between September and December 2010.
The department says it has not awarded any contracts to H20 Global Group or its parent company, H20 Water Professionals.
The Canadian Press obtained documents that show businessman Patrick Hill incorporated H20 Water Professionals on July 14. Hill's name appears alongside Nicolas Kuszup's in the paperwork.
On October 22, the company formed another entity called H2O Global Group to deal with Indian Affairs on the First Nations water project.
McPherson joined the company last year. She said Kuszup — who H20 Global Group says is no longer with the company — signed her original deal.
They say Harper brought Bruce Carson into his office when the Conservatives came to power believing that the disbarred and once-jailed ex-lawyer (emphasis ours) had paid his debt to society and deserved a chance at rebuilding his life.
But Harper's sympathy did not extend as far as considering Carson for the job as his chief of staff.
"He was lobbying for the chief's job, trying to line up support with people he thought might have some influence with the prime minister but there was no way he was going to get that job and they put a stop to his lobbying very quickly," said a high-level Conservative.
The prime minister was well aware of Carson's past. The Law Society of Upper Canada disbarred Carson in 1981, and he served time in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of defrauding clients.
Minutes from a July 16, 1981, meeting of the society's discipline committee explain why Carson was disbarred.
Their report "found that the solicitor was guilty of professional misconduct."
"He had forged the signature of the president of a corporation and misappropriated over $15,000 belonging to the corporation for which he acted," the document says.
"(He) forged the signature of a client from whom he misappropriated over $4,000; and misappropriated $4,900 belonging to another client."
Carson has a long track record as a survivor. He reinvented himself as a constitutional expert and became a Conservative researcher during the 1980s and '90s. When the Progressive Conservatives were reduced to two seats in the 1993 election and party jobs were extremely scarce, he managed to convince several Conservative senators to pool their research budgets together and hire him as their researcher.
He went to work for Harper when he became leader of the Opposition in 2004.
Carson remained with Harper after the Conservatives won the 2006 election. Around political Ottawa, he was known as "the Mechanic" for his ability to fix tricky situations.
The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network aired an investigation into Carson's alleged lobbying on behalf of an Ottawa-based water company that employed his girlfriend.
Harper's feelings of betrayal might explain why the Prime Minister's Office so swiftly called in the RCMP to investigate the allegations against Carson.
The matter was also referred to the office of the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner and the commissioner of lobbying.
The allegations revolve around a company called H2O Global Group's plan to sell water-filtration systems to reserves with water-quality problems.
Carson's 22-year-old girlfriend, Michele McPherson, signed a contract with the company last August 31 that would entitle her to 20 per cent of the project's gross sales, APTN reported.
But in a prepared statement released Thursday, McPherson said that contract was cancelled last month and her new deal is tied to "performance measures."
McPherson also acknowledged her past work in the "sex trade." APTN had reported that she worked as an Ottawa escort who went by the name Leanna VIP.
"As a young adolescent I faced some difficult challenges, I was recruited into the sex trade. As a vulnerable minor at the time it became extremely difficult to try and escape this," McPherson said.
"I have worked very hard to leave this trade and to do something different. I am not in this trade at all and have not been for some time."
Postings on adult websites suggest McPherson's moonlighting as an escort continued during the period she was signing the H20 contract toward the end of August.
On August 16, just two weeks before she signed the deal, "Leanna" posted a message on the Canadian Escort Recommendation Board.
"Hi Gentlemen, I will be excepting (sic) bookings this Tuesday and Wednesday for both in and out calls .... This being the last two days, I have decided to do something different in my personal life and will only be offering only out calls from now on ... And only part time ..."
But although she was moving toward a career change, it appears she didn't make a clean break.
"It's not often that I get to overnight in Ottawa, but as luck would have it, I had the opportunity a few weeks back to see Leanna," someone called latvian142 wrote on the Erotic Review website last September.
"A few email exchanges and we were able to set the date, this whole process with Leanna was effortless and enjoyable. We continued corresponding up to the date, discussing items such as dinner arrangements, wine preferences and so on."
But on Thursday, McPherson suggested someone else was behind the posting.
"I am shocked that someone has re-activated this information," she said, "and I question why someone would do something so cruel."
"I cannot even begin to express how emotionally hurt I am with this as there are no words to explain how I feel," she added. "This has affected my life, my family and people I care about deeply."
One of those people was the 65-year-old Carson, who APTN said met with Indian Affairs officials and senior political staff to push the water-filtration venture.
H20 Global Group has released a statement saying Carson never did any lobbying for the company.
"Mr. Bruce Carson has never lobbied for the company and has simply provided advice to assist us in understanding the process."
Carson has said little since the first APTN story aired. But details of his meetings have slowly emerged.
A spokesman for Environment Minister Peter Kent said Carson broached the topic of water issues in First Nations communities when he met the minister last month.
But the spokesman added Carson wasn't lobbying the minister on any company's behalf.
Carson also met senior political staff in the office of Indian Affairs Minister John Duncan on January 11 of this year to discuss the company and a First Nations water filtration project, officials in Duncan's office said.
Duncan's office said the January meeting involved Kym Purchase, the minister's director of policy, and Ted Yeomans, his director of parliamentary affairs.
Yeomans is a former assistant to MP Pierre Poilievre, Harper's parliamentary secretary.
"Mr. Carson briefed the staff on the proposed water project," Michelle Yao, Duncan's director of communications, said in an email. "Staff provided publicly available information to Bruce Carson and recommended he work directly with First Nations."
Yao described the meeting as standard practice. "Minister's staff regularly attend meetings with individuals and stakeholders," she said.
Carson also met Indian Affairs officials four times between September and December 2010.
The department says it has not awarded any contracts to H20 Global Group or its parent company, H20 Water Professionals.
The Canadian Press obtained documents that show businessman Patrick Hill incorporated H20 Water Professionals on July 14. Hill's name appears alongside Nicolas Kuszup's in the paperwork.
On October 22, the company formed another entity called H2O Global Group to deal with Indian Affairs on the First Nations water project.
McPherson joined the company last year. She said Kuszup — who H20 Global Group says is no longer with the company — signed her original deal.
posted by Clare L. Pieuk at 6:49 AM
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