Forced accountability

The CP reminds us that Allan Cutler wasn't the only putative Con candidate in Ottawa South to apparently receive promises from the party prior to the last election, and notes that Harper's chief of staff has failed in an attempt to stonewall against a resulting lawsuit:

Stephen Harper's right-hand man has lost a three-month legal battle to avoid explaining his role in a messy internal dispute that embarrassed the federal Conservatives in the last election.

Ian Brodie, the prime minister's chief of staff, did not attend two dates last spring to give evidence in an action brought by Alan Riddell, a labour relations lawyer who was ousted as the putative Tory candidate in the riding of Ottawa South. But the Ontario Court of Appeal, in a judgment quietly released last week, put an end to Brodie's effort to stave off questioning.

The three-judge panel unanimously ruled he had demonstrated no legal reason why he shouldn't testify...

Riddell claims the Tories reneged on a deal to pay him up to $150,000 in campaign expenses and legal fees run up before he finally agreed, under pressure, to step aside in Ottawa South in November 2005.

And given the context surrounding Riddell's claim, any denial that Cutler received financial inducements sounds all the less plausible:

The Conservatives don't deny they had a financial deal of some kind with Riddell when he stepped down, but say he breached the agreement by going public and isn't owed anything now.

As with Cutler's situation, the final outcome of the litigation matters far less than the context surrounding it. The Cons have once again shown their utter disinterest in clean and open government - both in their willingness to buy out a potential candidate, and the efforts of both the party (through its insistence that any public notice of the deal lets the Cons off the hook) and Harper's chief of staff (through his refusal to testify) to hide the facts as best possible. And now that Brodie has fought tooth and nail against any obligation to tell the truth about any arrangement with Riddell, there'll be all the more public interest in what he eventually has to say.