The trial of suspended Senator Mike Duffy getting underway today is expected to include a rare opening statement by his lawyer, the first narrative to a defence that has so far revealed little about its approach.
The former broadcaster will be in an Ottawa court this morning to face 30 charges of fraud and breach of trust, and one count of bribery. The maximum penalty for fraud or breach of trust by a public official is five years in prison.
The RCMP allege Duffy wrongly claimed his living allowance and other expenses from the time he was appointed until an outside audit was ordered to look into the claims.
The Crown will be the first to lay out its case over what's expected to be a 41-day trial, but much of it won't be a surprise to those who have closely followed reports of the investigation. The RCMP have laid out their case against Duffy in a series of affidavits filed in court to obtain production orders, including excerpts of emails and other documents.
But any evidence on which Duffy and his lawyer, Donald Bayne, will rely has likely not yet been made public. And much of it could illuminate the shadows in which political staff operate.
Joseph Neuberger, a Toronto-based criminal lawyer, said Bayne has been careful about not trying the case in the media. He said that's generally what good lawyers do.
At the same time, Neuberger said it's clear Bayne and Duffy will want to deflect attention from the expense allegations by raising questions about the Prime Minister's Office.
"We don't really know what are the factual underpinnings of the attack that the defence is going to level at the Prime Minister's Office, but it's certainly intriguing," Neuberger said in an interview with CBC News.
Dozens of witnesses
Duffy did a walk-through of the courthouse last week to get a sense of where the trial will take place and what the courtroom looks like. A source told the CBC's Hannah Thibedeau that Duffy didn't prep for the case over the weekend, but relaxed at home with his wife.
Bayne's cross-examination of the Crown's witnesses will foreshadow the story he'll tell through his case. But that won't be the only piece of the courtroom drama: dozens and dozens of witnesses have been subpoenaed, although not all will end up testifying.
Bayne may wish to use his cross-examination and documentary evidence like emails to round out the character of Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former chief of staff. Wright gave Duffy more than $90,000 to repay his Senate expenses, but left the chief of staff job once that transaction was revealed.
The trial on fraud and bribery charges of Mike Duffy, pictured with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2010, is expected to include a rare opening statement by his lawyer. (Chris Wattie/ Reuters)
Wright's former colleagues in the Conservative Party describe him as a highly moral person who did what he thought was right to protect Canadian taxpayers. It could help Duffy's case for Bayne to show a more partisan edge to Wright, who is expected to testify for the Crown.
The trial is expected to spend two days on the finer details of the Senate's rules on residences and expense claims as its members await the results of an auditor general report into their spending.
Canadians favour change for Senate: poll
It seems the focus of the last two years on questions about some senators' spending habits hasn't helped the institution's public perception: a new Angus Reid Institute poll to be released today suggests more than 85 per cent of Canadians feel the institution has to change in some way.
Almost half — 45 per cent — of those polled said the Senate should be reformed, while nearly as many — 41 per cent — said it should be abolished. Only 14 per cent surveyed said it should be left as it is.
That's actually a softened stance, according to the news release from Angus Reid: in November 2013, after a year of Senate expense scandal news coverage, 50 per cent of Canadians wanted to see the Senate abolished and only seven per cent wanted it left as is. About the same number, 43 per cent, agreed with reform.
The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from March 11-12 among a representative randomized sample of 1,500 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. A probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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