New in Ethics report (9): Harper learned about the tapes on the 17th

Long-time readers may remember a rather long-winded and complicated series of arguments last summer about whether Harper had learned about the call on the 16th or 17th (see here, where I concluded on the 17th, and here, where I wrongly argued for the 16th).

The Ethics Commissioner's report settles the question once and for all:

We wished to clarify with Mr. Harper that Mr. Grewal first approached him on this matter after their Tuesday evening (May 17, 2005) caucus meeting and that it was only on Wednesday, May 18, 2005, during a telephone conversation with Mr. Grewal that he (Mr. Harper) was informed by Mr. Grewal that he was tape recording conversations with the Liberals about crossing the floor and the offers that were being discussed. However, as indicated above, these facts were corroborated by Mr. Norquay.

The point is probably more important than it seems, since Harper told Grewal to stop taping at that point, and it seems that some of Grewal's tapes came after this. Since the call came on the 18th, only the recordings of that day were done after Harper told him to quit.