The Hook

Independent MP Bill Casey, a longtime Tory, discovered last Thursday that unnamed Conservatives had gone to the RCMP and charged him with theft and embezzlement.

You can find the story at Canadian Press, but Kady O’Malley has the transcript of Casey’s statement in the House of Commons today.

Here’s a very brief excerpt from Mr. Casey’s remarkable statement:

Last Thursday a member of the press, Hugo de Grandpré from La Presse called my office and asked if there was any update on the charges against me on the accusation of embezzlement.

I knew nothing about this on Thursday. I called him back to find out what it was, and he said that he was in possession of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police briefing note to the commissioner that says that the Conservative Party of Canada has asked the RCMP to conduct an investigation against me and it is entitled “a complaint of theft”.

It says that certain Conservative members, whose names are whited out, attended the Bible Hill office to report the embezzlement of funds by a member of Parliament.

This will be a story to follow.

Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee.