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Statements in the House of Commons are not delivered under oath and the opposition parties have long expressed disbelief at Mr. Harper’s explanation that Mr. Wright was acting alone.

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Tuesday’s question period was the first of the fall session in which the three main party leaders were all in attendance and it was marked by the direct, simple questions Mulcair asked the prime minister about Nigel Wright’s $90,000 cheque to Sen. Mike Duffy and other aspects of the growing scandal.

Before Harper allowed the parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, Ontario MP Paul Calandra, to take questions on the matter, the prime minister had a short exchange with the NDP leader.

“On June 5th, the prime minister said no one else in his office knew about Nigel Wright’s $90,000 payment to Mike Duffy. Was that true?” Mulcair asked Harper.

Harper responded: “Once again I’ve addressed that question some months ago in fact. The fact of the matter is this, as we all know Mr. Wright has said himself that this was a decision he made himself, that it was an error in judgment. He’s taken full responsibility and this government … will continue to take its responsibilities and those responsibilities are to focus on the real concerns of Canadians including jobs and the economy.”

Mulcair retorted: “As if whether or the not prime minister tells the truth to Canadians was not a matter of real concern to Canadians.”

After responding to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who commended the government on the EU-Canada free trade deal, Harper sat down and let Calandra take questions for the prime minister from Mulcair.