APTN National News
OTTAWA–Bruce Carson, a former aide to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, will face trial next summer on an influence peddling charge linked to an Ottawa water company’s attempt to sell water filtration systems to First Nation communities
Caron’s five-day trial will begin on July 22 and he has elected to be tried by judge alone. The date was agreed to by Carson’s lawyer and the Crown.
Carson, 66, was charged with influence peddling by the RCMP following a year-long probe triggered by an APTN National News investigation into his activities around his lobbying for H2O Pros, an Ottawa-based water company seeking to sell filtration systems to First Nations reserve suffering from water woes.
The RCMP alleged that Carson “directly or indirectly” demanded “a benefit” for his then-fiancee, Michele McPherson, a former Ottawa escort, in exchange for his “influence in connection with a matter of business relating to…Indian and Northern Affairs.”
The APTN National News investigation uncovered a contract signed between the water company and McPherson guaranteeing her a cut of the profits from the sale of filtration systems to First Nations communities.
Carson admitted to initialing the contract.
In an interview with APTN National News, Carson claimed he had been friends with Harper for nearly two decades. Carson was a senior aide in the Prime Minister’s Office and once held the job of acting chief of staff in the PMO despite having five criminal convictions and a bankruptcy on his record.
Carson also rubbed shoulders with the titans of the oil sector in Calgary as head of the Canada School of Energy and Environment which was created by the Conservative government with a $15 million investment.
The police investigation spanned both Ottawa and Calgary.
Harper Mafia.