Lawyer claims undisclosed information will clear ex-PM aide Bruce Carson
The lawyer for Bruce Carson says he’s in possession of information that will clear the former aide to Prime Minister Stephen Harper of an influence peddling charge that is linked to a water company’s attempts to sell water filtration systems to First Nations reserves.
APTN National news
OTTAWA–The lawyer for Bruce Carson says he’s in possession of information that will clear the former aide to Prime Minister Stephen Harper of an influence peddling charge that is linked to a water company’s attempts to sell water filtration systems to First Nations reserves.
Patrick McCann wouldn’t reveal the information, but claimed it would be enough to break the case against Carson, 66.
“I am not going to tell you what I know,” McCann told reporters Monday after a short hearing on the case. “I am surprised, really, that it got this far because of what I know are the facts.”
Monday was the first scheduled hearing for Carson, who did not appear in the Ottawa courtroom. His case was put over to Oct. 1.
Carson was charged with influence peddling by the RCMP following an over year-long probe triggered by an APTN National News investigation into his activities around his lobbying for 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, H2O Pros, 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.
