THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL FRIDAY
Doug Ford eyes Harper’s job
The brother of Toronto’s controversial former mayor is considering running to take over from Stephen Harper, should the Conservative Leader falter in the election.
If Harper were to step down as head of the Conservative Party after the Oct. 19 vote, Doug Ford would probably seek the leadership, according to former mayor Rob Ford.
“Doug said if it’s a minority government, Harper’s going to step down. He wants to run for leadership,” Rob Ford said.
Doug Ford, himself a former mayoral candidate and city councillor, said he fully supports Harper but wouldn’t rule out joining a race to replace him.
“I never say never in politics. But as of right now I am supporting the prime minister 100 per cent.”
Scouts Canada worried about uniforms at event
Scouts Canada officials say they didn’t agree to have some of their young members stand in uniform alongside Stephen Harper during a campaign stop Friday.
The Conservatives had children in Scouts uniforms as part of a campaign event in British Columbia where Harper promised to help the province’s fisheries.
But a spokesman for Scouts Canada says it is against the organization’s policy to have anyone in a Scouts uniform involved in political activities.
John Petitti said the organization was trying to ascertain what exactly happened, because the Scouts were not sanctioned to be at the event.
A spokesman for the Conservative campaign said the party welcomed the participation of anyone who was present.
Liberals ask RCMP to look into Mike Duffy case
The Liberals asked the RCMP Friday to expand its investigation into the Mike Duffy affair by looking into messages sent to and from Stephen Harper’s chief of staff because they might be relevant to the senator’s fraud trial.
Duffy’s trial this week heard that Ray Novak was present for discussions about a controversial $90,000 payment in 2013 by Harper’s previous chief of staff, Nigel Wright, to cover Duffy’s questionable expenses. The testimony contradicts assertions from the Conservative campaign about what Novak knew about the repayment scheme.
Liberal candidate Dominic LeBlanc sent a letter to the RCMP and the information commissioner, asking them to look into text messages and BlackBerry PIN messages sent and received by Novak.
Veterans ombudsman gets job extension
The federal government quietly extended the term of the country’s veterans ombudsman on the eve of the election.
Guy Parent, whose served as an advocate for ex-soldiers and an adviser to the veterans minister, was given a three-year extension to his mandate in a cabinet order dated July 28.
Lucille Hodgins, a spokeswoman for Parent, says the new, shorter appointment represents a return to the original three-year mandate of the ombudsman and will give him time to complete additional reforms under the new veterans charter.