Political Traction: Government secrecy keeps Senate scandal alive

Jaime Watt joins CBC News Networks' Power & Politics host Evan Solomon each week to look at how issues making waves in Ottawa resonate with Canadians.

Monitoring the House of Commons' question period, mainstream media and the conversation on social media, Watt and his team at Navigator Ltd. determine which issues gained the most attention in official Ottawa, and then measure how much traction those issues managed to find with Canadians outside the nation's capital.

This week: The government is keeping the Senate expenses scandal alive by not revealing all the facts, according to Jaime Watt.

"The problem for this story is it doesn't make sense right now," Watt said. "Good or bad, whatever the story is, it's got to make sense."

Watt argues that Canadians won't move on from the Senate scandal until the government discloses all information on the $90,000 deal between Senator Mike Duffy and the prime minister's former chief of staff, Nigel Wright.

Lingering confusion around Duffy's dealings with the prime minister's office is fueling opposition and media scrutiny, according to Watt.

"The Wright-Duffy deal needs more clarity and more precision before people will let it go," Watt said.

The Government Leader in the Senate, Marjory Lebreton, is introducing a motion Tuesday calling on the Auditor General to carry out a comprehensive audit of all senators' expenses. Watt predicts an audit won't benefit the Conservatives.

"Even though the government is trying to come out and take action, like calling in the auditor general, it's having the effect of continuing to give this story oxygen," Watt said.

Tom Mulcair is the driving force behind traction on the Senate scandal. Last week, the NDP leader used question period to ask the Prime Minister pointed questions about what he knew about the $90,000 cheque between Wright and Duffy.

"(Mulcair) created a public record and he got the Prime Minister on that Public Record," Watt said.

Ford faces downward spiral

The Toronto Mayor is hiring new staff after the departure of six mayoral office members.

The resignations and allegations swirling around Rob Ford have gripped the attention of Canadians across the country.

"It's like watching a car crash, people just can't take their eyes off of it," Watt said.

Ford hasn't lost all of his supporters, but that will soon be the case if he continues evading questions on the matter, according to Watt.

But Finance Minister Jim Flaherty remains a steadfast supporter.  Flaherty told CBC's Power & Politics that he's spoken with the mayor and members of the Ford family.

"I'm very close to the family...my discussions with (Ford) have been personal," Flaherty said.

Watt isn't surprised Flaherty is speaking with Ford.

"Flaherty has many faults, loyalty is not one of those faults." Watt said. "I think it's pretty straightforward that he'd seek to reach out and try to help someone in that crisis."

"And don't make any mistake about it...it's a big crisis," Watt said.

Here's a look at the Traction numbers: