Bye-bye to the Duff: Walker

The curtain has finally fallen on Mike Duffy’s controversial career in the Canadian Senate.

It was an open secret in the nation’s capital that throughout his broadcast career on Parliament Hill, the goal for the Charlottetown native was a Senate seat. Widely known by his nickname, “the Duff” lobbied anyone who might help his cause, including Island MPs of both political stripes over the years. His wish was finally granted by then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009, and almost immediately questions surfaced about his eligibility.

Most MPs and senators (unless they happen to represent a riding within commuting distance of Parliament Hill) have a residence in the capital. However, before embarking on their political career, they were usually full-time residents of the riding they represent.

Spending time in Ottawa is part of the job requirement. That has changed somewhat because of COVID, but so has every other facet of life and it remains to be seen whether telecommuting will become a permanent part of the parliamentary routine.

That was not the case with Mike Duffy. He lived in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata and had a cottage in Cavendish, P.E.I., which he later tried to convince Canadians was his primary residence. What became known as the Senate Expense Scandal resulted from his claiming expenses related to his Ottawa area home.

What is most surprising about the saga that followed was how easily it could have been avoided. If Duffy had retired from his job at CTV and moved back to P.E.I. long enough to establish his residential status with the Department of Finance before he was appointed, his political career would have been quite different. Instead, he went right from in front of the camera to the Senate.

He also became a fierce political partisan, doing fundraising and campaigning at a level not usually seen in the less partisan upper chamber. For the Stephen Harper government, he was a political asset that eventually became a major liability.

Harper eventually ordered Duffy to pay back over $90,000 in expenses which happened in early 2013. That might have been the end to the issue, except for the fact it was later revealed the money came from Nigel Wright, who at that time was the prime minister’s chief of staff.

That eventually led to Duffy’s suspension from the Senate and 31 criminal charges. He was cleared of all the charges and was eventually reinstated into the Red Chamber. He made several unsuccessful attempts through the court system to get back the salary lost during the suspension.

Since his reinstatement in 2016, Duffy kept a low profile and was seldom seen at public functions. He kept that stance until the end of his career, refusing media requests for interviews. That profile also extended to his work in the Senate, as his official webpage contains mostly posts from his trial.

The former broadcaster is a man of considerable talents and could have used them to enhance life for Islanders and all Canadians. His legacy, such as it is, must be that he failed to seize that opportunity.

“For the Stephen Harper government, he was a political asset that eventually became a major liability.”