"A former senior advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper was lobbying Indian Affairs to land water contracts potentially worth millions of dollars for an Ottawa-based water company that employed his fiance who was an escort.

The name of Michele McPherson, 22, appears on a secret contract witnessed by Bruce Carson that guaranteed her 20 per cent of all gross revenues from sales related to water contracts on First Nations reserves, according to a copy of the contract obtained by an APTN investigative team.

APTN unearthed the contract as part of its investigation into Carson’s involvement with H2O Pros and its attempts to sell water filtration systems to First Nations with the poorest water quality.

Carson, who was one of Harper’s longest serving advisors, left the Prime Minister’s Office in 2008 to take over the newly minted Canada School of Energy and Environment that received $15 million in federal funds.

The Prime Minister’s Office asked the RCMP, the Commissioner of Lobbying and the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner to investigate Carson’s activities after APTN disclosed some of the information gathered in the course of the investigation.

Carson says on-camera he witnessed the contract’s signing between H2O Pro and Michelle McPherson, who also goes by the escort name Leanna VIP.

“I didn’t sign it…I witnessed it,” said Carson, when he asked by APTN about the details of the contract.

According to records, Carson and McPherson share a $400,000 house with an in-ground pool that sits on a 2-acre lot near Winchester about 60 km from Ottawa.

The home was bought in December. Carson rarely stays there. He works out of Calgary and when he does come to Ottawa he also books a room at the Chateau Laurier next to Parliament Hill.

McPherson also drives a black Mercedes SUV that Carson purchased."

Get the Story:
Former Harper advisor had deal with escort for First Nations water contracts: document (APTN 3/17)
Carson’s Valentine’s Day meal with Atleo and the pitch to Mike Holmes (APTN 3/18)