Liberal senator tries to get Gerstein removed as chairman of Senate committee

OTTAWA – A Liberal senator has tried to have Irving Gerstein removed as chair of a powerful Senate committee until he speaks up about his role in the expenses scandal.

Sen. Celine Hervieux-Payette raised a point of order asking that Gerstein step aside as chair of the banking, trade and commerce committee.

She says he should step down until his name is cleared or he agrees to testify before another Senate committee about his role.

Gerstein has ruled her suggestion out of order.

RCMP documents filed in court suggest Gerstein was involved in a deal in which former prime ministerial chief of staff Nigel Wright paid $90,000 to Sen. Mike Duffy to reimburse the Senate for invalid living expenses.

Gerstein, who heads the Conservative party’s fundraising arm, initially agreed to have the party pay Duffy’s tab — believed at the time to be $32,000 — but balked when it became clear the bill was more than $90,000.

The RCMP documents include emails which show Wright dispatched Gerstein to speak to his contacts at Deloitte in a bid to shape an independent audit of Duffy’s expenses.