Senator blames furor on Tory colleague
'I'm going to take care of him soon,' Leo Housakos says of caucus-mate who he blames for controversy over Montreal stimulus contract
Jennifer Ditchburn
Ottawa— The Canadian Press
Tory Senator Leo Housakos, embroiled in an ethics controversy over a stimulus contract, is accusing one of his own Conservative caucus members of trying to trip him up.
Mr. Housakos blamed his troubles on "somebody in my own caucus," and said, "I'm going to take care of him soon," La Presse reported Wednesday.
The Senate Ethics Officer, at Mr. Housakos's own request, is looking into the matter of a Montreal engineering firm for which the senator worked winning a $1.4-million stimulus contract. BPR and a consortium will be studying possible repairs or reconstruction of the aging Champlain Bridge.
Mr. Housakos's accusations about his own party were greeted with some amusement by other members, who said privately he is wasting time looking for enemies in his own fold.
A source said he told his colleagues at a Quebec caucus meeting Wednesday he had pre-cleared his business arrangements with the ethics officer in the past and that he wasn't even working for BPR when the company won the contract.
BPR and the BCDE consortium won the contract on Sept. 21. Mr. Housakos's declaration to the ethics officer said he left the company Oct. 1.
Mr. Housakos and BPR said he had nothing to do with the contract, and worked for BPR's wholly owned subsidiary TerrEau, which had no contact with the federal government.
The 41-year-old senator wields important power in the party as one its key organizers in Quebec, skills he honed when he worked with Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay and as head of the Action Democratique du Quebec's fundraising arm.
On May 20, Mr. Housakos organized a major Conservative fundraiser in Montreal featuring Prime Minister Stephen Harper, for which he was roundly congratulated.
Some of the figures on the guest list that night would go on to be placed in high-profile government posts within a matter of weeks or months.
Among them:
Jean-Martin Masse: The lawyer and Montreal businessman was appointed to Via Rail's board of directors on June 19, 2009. He and Mr. Housakos were members of the Progressive Conservative party's youth wing and worked together within the ADQ. Mr. Masse was an executive at an advertising firm that provided technical assistance to Mr. Housakos to do business under the firm's name in Greece.
Nick Katalifos: a long-time Montreal school principal was appointed to the Employment Insurance Board of Referees on Sept. 9, 2009. He and Mr. Housakos co-founded a small international consulting firm called Quadvision International.
Claude Carignan: the mayor of Saint-Eustache was appointed to the Senate on Aug. 27, 2009. He and Mr. Housakos worked together at the highest levels of the ADQ, where Mr. Carignan was a party co-founder.
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1 comment:
Meanwhile, Jean Charest's Liberals are resisting calls for an inquiry into reported influence money and mobsters. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/charest-resists-calls-for-inquiry-into-construction/article1331667/
Nothing like a nice distraction, though.
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