Crown drops criminal charges against former Liberal senator Mac Harb

OTTAWA – The death knell echoed louder for the Senate spending saga Friday as prosecutors gave up chasing former senator Mac Harb, leaving the once-sizzling scandal little more than a fizzling heap of audits, investigations and trials.

One month after the sensational acquittal of Sen. Mike Duffy, prosecutors finally pulled the plug on their case against Harb, 62, saying they did not see a reasonable prospect of conviction.

That decision came just one day after the RCMP said investigators would not pursue charges against Sen. Pamela Wallin, despite having spent three years poring through her disputed travel expenses.

Harb was facing one count each of fraud and breach of trust stemming from housing expenses once deemed unjustified by the Senate, forcing him in 2013 to repay $231,000 for years of housing claims, then promptly retire from the upper chamber.

The one-time Liberal MP from Ottawa filed for a secondary home in the city while claiming his primary residence was far from the national capital.

An RCMP investigation into Harb’s spending alleged that his primary residence was in fact “uninhabitable” for three years, and that he maintained a 0.01 per cent ownership stake in it after selling the rest to a diplomat from Brunei.

In a statement, Harb’s lawyer Sean May said his client has “steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout the arduous process” of the RCMP investigation, one in which he co-operated fully.

“The withdrawal of the charges is a complete vindication of Mr. Harb, legally and ethically,” May said.

That leaves Patrick Brazeau as the only senator with a scheduled criminal trial related to expense claims. Brazeau’s lawyer Christian Deslauriers said Friday that if the Crown can’t make a case against Harb, convicting his client would be even harder.

Just last month, an Ontario Court judge dismissed the 31 expense-related charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery against Duffy in sensational fashion. The Crown has until Tuesday to file an appeal in that case.

Ontario Court Justice Charles Vaillancourt ruled that the Senate spending rules were too ambiguous, echoing conclusions from two private auditing firms — one looking into Brazeau and Harb, the other the Senate’s own books.

“I would find it difficult for the Crown to prove without reasonable doubt that Mr. Brazeau wanted, intentionally, to defraud the system, knowing that the system is so unclear and impossible to understand,” Deslauriers said.

NDP MP Daniel Blaikie called Duffy’s case the litmus test: if the charges didn’t stick there, they likely wouldn’t stick to anyone else involved in the Senate spending scandal.

“If you couldn’t convict Mike Duffy … on the existing rules, it’s hard to believe you could convict anyone,” Blaikie said.

“Canadians really felt like there was something that had gone on there that deserved punishment, and so if it didn’t happen in that case, I think it’s likely that it wouldn’t happen in any other cases.”

— With files from Lina Dib

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