Marc Mayrand, Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer, testified before the House Ethics Committee regarding an alleged media leak surrounding the recent raid on Conservative Party headquarters.
In April Elections Canada and the RCMP conducted a highly publicized raid on Conservative Party headquarters searching for documents related to a dispute over election spending during the 2006 election.
Conservatives suspect Elections Canada of leaking news of the raid to the CBC and the Liberal Party.
Mayrand says he reviewed the allegations but could find no evidence of a leak.
The RCMP has closed its investigation into allegations that Conservatives attempted to bribe the late independent MP Chuck Cadman in 2005, saying there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by Stephen Harper or the Conservative Party.
Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc asked the RCMP to investigate the allegations, and today released the the RCMP’s response. Despite the RCMP findings, Stéphane Dion and other Liberals say they will continue to press the government on the alleged attempted bribery of the deceased MP.
April 15 to 17, 2008 -The RCMP searched Conservative Party Headquarters executing a warrant obtained by Elections Canada.
Elections Canada has not revealed the reason for the raid, and the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant has been sealed in a Toronto court.
The RCMP say the Mounties were merely assisting with the Elections Canada warrant:
It is not an RCMP investigation. We’re there to assist, but that’s it.
- RCMP Cpl. Jean Hainey
The Conservative Party is suing Elections Canada over an August 2007 ruling by the agency that disallowed rebates claimed for election spending during the 2006 election.
Conservatives claim other political parties follow the same practices, and they accuse Elections Canada of applying different standards to the Conservative Party.
The Tories say Elections Canada improperly seized confidential legal documents related to their civil dispute, and they claim the timing of the search is suspicious coming just one day before Elections Canada officials were to be cross-examined by Conservative lawyers.
The situation has led to speculation that Elections Canada is acting out a vendetta against Conservatives over past disagreements.
Links:
Stephen Harper’s August 2001 fundraising letter in which he says “the jackasses at Elections Canada are out of control.”
Loading ...
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
