In a coincidence so convenient it practically filed its own expenses, Stephen Harper triggered Canada's 2015 federal election campaign just days before his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, was scheduled to testify in the fraud trial of Senator Mike Duffy. Nothing to see here. Move along. The timing, noted with forensic cheerfulness by The Guardian, meant the Conservative Party's formidable war chest could be deployed in an election rather than in managing the optics of Wright explaining why he wrote a personal cheque for C$90,000 to help a sitting senator quietly repay questionable expense claims. Duffy, a broadcaster Harper had appointed to the Senate in 2009 — presumably for his distinguished contributions to the art of billing — pleaded not guilty to 31 charges including fraud, breach of trust, and bribery. Wright, meanwhile, faced no criminal charges whatsoever, because in Canadian conservative politics, writing a secret five-figure cheque to a senator is apparently just a gentleman's gesture. Harper's Conservatives did maintain a robust fundraising advantage heading into the October vote, which is one way to ensure that inconvenient courtroom theatre plays to an empty house.