Conservative Party Advisor Caught Up In Sex Scandal

Another cock-up in Ottawa by Stephen Harper and his friends.

A former adviser to the Prime Minister lobbied on behalf of a water filtration company that reportedly cut a deal to compensate his fiancee, a 22-year-old one-time Ottawa escort, with a portion of all sales.

The revelation by the Aboriginal People's Television Network adds a dose of sex - in the form of the 124 lb., 5-foot-6 blonde - to a political scandal that has the Royal Canadian Mounted Police probing a former confidante to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The report said that longtime Tory operative Bruce Carson was an official witness to a deal with an Ottawa firm, H2O Global Group, to provide 20 per cent of all revenues from the sale of water filtration systems to aboriginal reserves across Ontario to Michele McPherson.

McPherson and Carson purchased a $389,500 home in December in Mountain, Ont., south of Ottawa, according to property records.

The sweetheart deal itself is not illegal, but it could help to explain why Carson appears to have so aggressively promoted the firm. He is accused of breaching the rules designed to ban political staffers from lobbying the federal government when they leave Parliament Hill.

"His motivation may have been driven by his love life more than his greed," suggested New Democratic Party MP Pat Martin.

Officials in Indian Affairs Minister John Duncan's office confirmed Thursday that Carson made a presentation on Jan. 11 to ministerial aides on behalf of H2O Global Group, the apparent breach of the federal lobbying act.

Patrick Hill, an Ottawa entrepreneur, incorporated his firm Oct. 22 and set off in search of government funds. His target was a pilot project being set up by the government to provide safe drinking water to four First Nations.

"Staff provided publicly available information to Bruce Carson and recommended he work directly with First Nations," Duncan's spokeswoman, Michelle Yao, said in an email.

She said the onus was on Carson, not on ministerial and departmental staff, to play by the lobbying rules, even though any Conservative operative in Ottawa would have recognized Carson by name if not by face.

On Wednesday APTN revealed that Carson, who left the Prime Minister's Office in 2008 to run the University of Calgary's Canada School of Energy and Environment, boasted to H2O Global Group officials that he was told by Harper that Duncan was moving to the Indian Affairs post in an Aug. 6, 2010 cabinet shuffle.

Carson, who later told APTN he had lied about talking to Harper, went on to brag of his close ties to the British Columbia Tory MP and told the firm that "it is full steam ahead" with their business plan.

It was this that prompted Carson's former boss to call in the Mounties.

But he also fell afoul of the Assembly of First Nations, a national aboriginal advocacy group, and a friend, National Chief Shawn Atleo. The two had been appointed in 2007 to co-chair a joint task force on First Nations specific claims.

It soon got round to the Assembly of First Nations that the longtime operative in Ottawa and at Queen's Park under former premier Mike Harris was making claims that the AFN and Atleo had given their endorsements to H2O's water filtration products, which the firm was pitching to the Mohawks of Quinte Bay, which includes the Tyendinaga reserve, just west of Kingston.

This resulted in a veiled warning in an email from the AFN, described by one official as a type of "cease-and-desist" letter, sent to Carson on Oct. 8, 2010.

"I want to make it clear that the AFN does not endorse any product nor accept any liability on the performance of the product marketed by H2O Pros," wrote Irving Leblanc, the group's housing, infrastructure and water specialist.

Nonetheless, H2O's Hill approached the Mohawks last fall with a letter that implied the band council just had to say yes to the company in order to improve their drinking water, which has been under a boil water advisory since 2008.

"Should you decide that our solutions are acceptable, (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada) will provide all funding for the project and work will commence as soon as you are prepared to grant us permission," Hill wrote on Oct. 14 to Chief R. Donald Maracle.

Emails obtained by the Star show the Tyendinaga Mohawk Council believed the company already had federal funding. They agreed to hear a sales pitch on Nov. 22.

The community was intrigued because, like many First Nations communities across Canada, access to safe drinking water is a big problem in Tyendinaga.

The band council had some questions about process and funding but it remained interested and in touch with the company.

Ahead of another scheduled meeting on Wednesday morning of this week - after the PMO had been tipped off to the APTN story - Carson forwarded his email correspondence with an Indian Affairs official to his contact at the band council.

The Feb. 17 message recounted a call with Carson about H20's water purification project, described how to apply for federal funding and gave Carson contact information for other government officials.

According to the email, Carson told the officials that the AFN was "open" to using the H20 system, despite the aboriginal group's October warning.

Chief Maracle, puzzled by the lack of direct contact with Indian Affairs officials, decided to verify Carson's claims before sitting down with H20 "to make sure that names weren't being dropped," he said.

He found out one official denied ever having communicated with Carson or H20 and another described the competitive bidding process required to access the funding.

"Nobody seemed to be aware if there is was a list of approved suppliers," said Maracle.

Commenting on the matter Thursday, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said the actions of one of Harper's most trusted advisers shows the "serious ethical lapses" of the Tory government. It also calls into question whether the Conservative Party can be trusted to run the country, he said.

Other sources involved in representing First Nations groups to the federal government say that Carson's alleged activities - boasting of special access to the government - is actually widespread, particularly among those who have been employed during Harper's five-year reign.

"There are a number of people out there right now who are selling influence," said one well-connected lobbyist. "(Carson's) biggest problem comes from him bragging that he knows the Prime Minister."

An official with H2O Global Group told the Star in an email that they were "in a bit of shock" over Carson's predicament.

"We have read the articles and are deeply concerned for Mr. Carson. Unfortunately APTN is not giving the true and proper story and what they claim to have obtained is not from a good source or credible," wrote Christine McPherson Thursday morning.

The Star could not confirm reports that Christine McPherson is Michele McPherson's mother.

A listing on an Industry Canada website for maXimus HRM, a human resources firm specializing in providing skilled workers to employers in Canada, the Philippines and Qatar lists both McPhersons as directors.

The phone number for Michele McPherson is the same as the one on an escort website for a woman who identifies herself as Leanna.

Harper himself did not take questions from reporters Thursday, but officials maintain that he has never met or communicated with Carson on behalf of H2O Global Group. The PMO has also cut off Carson from any future dealings.

The woman who identifies herself as Leanna received positive reviews on an online discussion forum for johns called the Canadian Escort Recommendation Board.

"Besides being beautiful, she is very friendly and loves to kiss and cuddle," one client wrote in December 2009, noting he had booked an appointment based on positive reviews. "Leanna has a very comfortable and private location. I definitely plan to repeat."

Leanna often posted notices advertising herself as available for both in and out calls and offering a "girlfriend experience," meaning clients could expect her to treat them as if they were a couple.

The final chapter hasn't been written but this girl is clearly a gold-digga.



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