Conservatives Must Account for Unreported Donations

[BitWhys]

I'm getting a real kick out of this one...

June 30, 2006

Ottawa – The Conservative Party must account for where they spent millions of dollars on donations that they never reported to Elections Canada, Treasury Board Critic Navdeep Bains and Liberal Party National Director Steve MacKinnon said today.

“The Conservatives received nearly $2 million dollars from their policy convention and made no disclosure to Elections Canada,” said Mr. Bains. “There’s no accountability. Many Conservative donors may have exceeded the annual donation limits. This money could have been spent on anything – campaigns, advertising, you name it.”

Today when questioned by reporters, Prime Minister Stephen Harper refused to admit that his party had violated election financing laws despite explicit rules concerning the disclosure of political donations. Section 404.4(1) of the Canada Elections Act requires that registered political parties issue tax receipts for all financial contributions greater than $25.

Earlier this week, Treasury Board President John Baird, the man responsible for pushing the so-called federal Accountability Act through Parliament and cleaning up government, admitted before a Senate committee that his party did not consider fees paid to attend its 2005 policy convention to be political contributions.

Nearly 3,000 people attended the convention, paying close to $2 million in fees – money which should have been reported to Elections Canada as donations.

“Minister Baird’s admission raises the spectre of Conservative conventions being held, none of the money being reported, leaving Conservatives free to spend it as they please with zero accountability. It stinks and they’ll have to open the books to clear the air,” said Mr. MacKinnon.

By law all registered political parties must make an annual Financial Transactions Return with Elections Canada accounting for relevant receipts and expenditures, added Mr. MacKinnon.

Mr. MacKinnon and Mr. Bains reiterated that the Liberals will be filing a formal complaint with the Commissioner of Canada Elections, Raymond Landry, calling on him to investigate the possible illegal use of millions of dollars of unreported donations by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.

On June 29, Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer joined the call for the Conservative Party to open its books to a full independent audit. In a statement, Jean-Pierre Kingsley requested that “the Conservative Party of Canada to provide him with the necessary documents and supporting information to allow the public to know that the law has been respected.”

"The Conservatives have admitted this has been their common practice for years. So where did all the money go? They’ll have to account for every penny to ensure they are compliant with the law," said Mr. Bains.

Both Mr. Bains and Mr. Mackinnon said the Conservatives should establish a trust fund for all the monies in question until Mr. Landry completes his investigation.

“If the Conservatives want to be open and transparent they should put $1.7 million in a trust fund until the investigation is finished,” said Mr. MacKinnon.

So how DO the Tories pass the smell test on this one? :lol:

 

[vishliberal]

This just proves one thing. Their all crooks. No matter if you turn left or right, all of the political parties will still be the same. Its sad to say but its hard to really find a dominant trusting political party today. The Conservatives arent any better than any political party, they just look better because they havent governed for as long as the liberals. Give them some time.

 

[JonB2004]

RE: Conservatives Must Ac

The thing with the Conservatives is that they are not only crooks, but they are also hypocrites for bitching for 12 years about Liberal scandal, but then going off and doing it themselves.

 

[Colpy]

Re: RE: Conservatives Must Ac

The thing with the Conservatives is that they are not only crooks, but they are also hypocrites for bitching for 12 years about Liberal scandal, but then going off and doing it themselves.

Okay, this is silly.

The Conservatives did not believe fees charged at the Convention (or conventions before this one) were donations. That is a completely reasonable assumption, and they should immediately open their books, and see this whole fiasco before a court, so that the rules can be clarified.

As for comparison with the Liberals, I haven't seen the Mob running The Conservatives Quebec wing, I haven't seen the RCMP used as the PM's personal little Gestapo in vendettas against the President of the BDC, and that just scratches the surface.

You are comparing what could have been an honest mistake to a government so corrupt it was extremely frightening. A made man as a cabinet minister scares the HELL out of me.

 

[BitWhys]

RE: Conservatives Must Ac

If they're so sure they spent it all their books must be all set and ready to go so that part of it should be cleared up quick enough even if a positive outcome still leaves them looking too crafty for their own good. What's left up in the air is explaining where they get off trying to leave the Liberals hanging on this year's convention.

The opposition has all summer to boil this down for public consumption. So far its been basically under the radar and, I will note, pre-emptive rhetoric on the matter is conspicuous by its absence.

 

[GuyIncognito]

RE: Conservatives Must Ac

I'm starting to think we might have to change the name "Public Service" as it's pretty apparent that no one gets into the game these days to better anyone but themselves.

 

[BitWhys]

heh. turns out it was Sparky of the Treasury Board that opened his big yap in committee about it.

how the hell a party discloses all its expenditures in its annual fiscal statement and gets a valid bottom line without declaring income is beyond me, but since those books are supposed to be turned in already and, undoubtedly, totally reconciled it must only be a matter of time before I find out how its done.

 

[FiveParadox]

I would agree with the premise of the thread post.

During the Thirty-eighth Parliament of Canada, the revelations of the corruption that had been left behind by The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien brought the Government of Canada to its knees and threatened to tear the Liberal Party of Canada into pieces. Now that the Renewal Commission has been launched, and the party has come out of debt, the party can begin to recover from the tarnished image that Mr. Chrétien thrust upon his own party and Government.

However, one cannot, as has been done above, suggest that the present Government of Canada somehow has a "free pass" to violate elections laws. If the Conservative Party of Canada does indeed contend that there was no violation of elections laws, then they should be quite prepared to open up their books to prove their compliance with the law. We should not have a double-standard. Either this behaviour is appropriate, or inappropriate — the party notwithstanding.

 

[Colpy]

I would agree with the premise of the thread post.

During the Thirty-eighth Parliament of Canada, the revelations of the corruption that had been left behind by The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien brought the Government of Canada to its knees and threatened to tear the Liberal Party of Canada into pieces. Now that the Renewal Commission has been launched, and the party has come out of debt, the party can begin to recover from the tarnished image that Mr. Chrétien thrust upon his own party and Government.

However, one cannot, as has been done above, suggest that the present Government of Canada somehow has a "free pass" to violate elections laws. If the Conservative Party of Canada does indeed contend that there was no violation of elections laws, then they should be quite prepared to open up their books to prove their compliance with the law. We should not have a double-standard. Either this behaviour is appropriate, or inappropriate — the party notwithstanding.

Yes, they should immediately open their books......that much I agree on.

 

[BitWhys]

their books shouldn't have to be opened.

"Registered parties are also required to submit an annual fiscal period return, disclosing (among other information) any by-election expenses, the expenditures of the party during the fiscal period, the amount and source of all contributions, and the names, addresses and dates the contributions were provided of those whose aggregate contributions exceeded $200."

what they have to do...

is match.

 

[Grit86]

Well, after Harper talked such a big talk about "cleaning up government" and holding his administration to high ethical standards, I think we all knew it was going to turn around and bit them in the a**.

There's no way any political party can hold themselves to such high standards.

 

[BitWhys]

RE: Conservatives Must Ac

who would have figured that "open and accountable" is a moving target?

bets on whether they try show up with a fresh set of books?