“It just wasn’t on my list of things I felt I had to check with him”, Wright said when asked whether he needed the prime minister’s approval to repay Duffy’s expenses.

Perrin says shortly before the conference call, he sat at a table in Wright’s office with Wright and Novak. Mr. Wright did reimburse the taxpayer, I’ll give him that, but he also acted contrary to my wishes and allowed Mr. Duffy to keep the money, which he has to this day.

Novak came in during Perrin’s summary. But when pressed on when he last communicated with Novak, Wright said it was about two weeks ago.

“Goodness, what a relief that’s finally wrapped up and I’ll never have to think about all this ever again”, Perrin may have thought at the time.

“And so, because I was so surprised, I looked to my right to see Mr. Novak’s reaction, and he didn’t have any reaction to that information”. “They’ve been held accountable”, said Harper to loud applause.

“It was a very awkward position I found myself in and I didn’t like it”, he said. Duffy protested the plan; even he, ethically-challenged as he has turned out to be, could recognize a grift when presented with one.

Wright earlier testified that Novak had only popped in and out of that conversation. Supposedly he knew nothing of the plan to secretly use Conservative party funds for the payment nor of the later plan for Wright to issue a personal check to cover the expenses. In May 2013, he said his chief resigned after making the mistake; that October, he said he had fired him for his error.

Perrin’s testimony is done, and court is adjourned until Monday. “Duffy was considering reneging on his public commitment to repay his disputed expenses, that he continued to believe the rules around claiming the housing allowance were ambiguous and that they were seriously considering going through the audit process to achieve a favourable outcome”, he said.

Novak has been a loyal political lieutenant to Harper since his days in opposition.

Duffy has pleaded not guilty to 31 breach of trust, fraud and bribery charges, three of which relate to Wright’s $90,000.

Hours before this testimony, Harper was knocked off message by a pair of questions about Novak after his morning policy announcement – increasing the tax credit for parents adopting a child. Duffy had lived and worked in Ottawa for decades before Harper made him a senator.

Under the Conservative leader, nation-building projects such as the railroad or national health care would never have been realized, Wynne said, while Mulcair’s promises are unrealistic or unaffordable.

Harper has stonewalled on the matter, insisting it was only Wright and Duffy who were responsible, but has been dogged by persistent questions. Dennis Patterson.

Perrin’s tenure at the PMO in 2012-2013 was not smooth sailing. He proposed a test for residency, which would include a number of “indicators”.

The Constitution specifies that a senator must own at least $4,000 worth of property but it also says a senator “shall be resident” in the province he or she is appointed to represent. The subject was closed.

The scandal and criminal trial involve people who were once close allies of the prime minister, and testimony has overshadowed Harper’s campaign ahead of Canada’s October 19 election.

“To me, both legally and practically, it seemed untenable”.