Loan to ex-liberal senator raises new ethics questions
OTTAWA — An Ottawa businessman’s $55,000 loan to Sen. Mac Harb is raising fresh questions in the Senate ethics scandal.
The Mounties are already looking into Harb’s questionable housing claims, but new information has emerged that could land the senator — formerly a member of the Liberal caucus — in more hot water.
The Canadian Press has learned Brian Karam, an Ottawa lawyer who has for years done business with the federal government, was behind the loan.
The Criminal Code states that government officials cannot accept an “advantage or benefit” of money from someone who deals with the federal government without first getting written permission.
That part of the Criminal Code is one of the reasons why the RCMP is investigating Harb’s Senate colleague Mike Duffy, who accepted $90,000 from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, to cover his own improper housing claims.
The Senate refuses to say if Harb sought or was granted permission before accepting the loan; neither he nor Karam have responded to requests for comment.
“This is private information,” said an email from Senate spokeswoman Annie Joannette. She directed questions to Harb’s office, but those queries have gone unanswered. The RCMP refused to comment. Property records show Harb accepted a $55,000 loan from a numbered company on May 17. The senator filed an updated disclosure statement to the Senate ethics officer on June 12 indicating he owed an unspecified amount of money to that numbered company, 1202864 Ontario Ltd.
Ontario corporate documents show Karam is the sole owner of the numbered company.