May 26 to 30, 2008 - Speculation surrounding Julie Couillard spins out of control after Couillard gave a public interview in which she revealed former Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier left sensitive documents at her home.
The mainstream media, Liberal Party and Bloc Québécois speculate about a possible bug in Couillard’s mattress, rumoured meetings between Canada’s spy agency CSIS and the Prime Minister’s Office, and whether Couillard held a diplomatic passport.
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.
Government House Leader Peter Van Loan introduces the Accountability with Respect to Loans bill as part of the government’s broader democratic reform agenda. The bill closes a loophole left open by the government’s Accountability Act which imposes new limits on contributions to political parties by allowing only contributions from individuals donating up to $1100 per year to each political party.
Both measures are designed to remove the influence of corporations, trade unions, special interests and wealthy individuals on the political process in favour of broad financial support from individual Canadians.
The new bill closes a loophole where private loans can be made to political parties with no expectation of repayment. The bill:
Establishes a reporting regime for all loans to political parties, associations, and candidates, including mandatory disclosure of terms such as interest rates, and the identity of all lenders and loan guarantors;
Bans unions and corporations from making loans to political parties;
Limits total loans, loan guarantees, and contributions by individuals to $1100 per year as established in the Federal Accountability Act;
Permits only registered Canadian financial institutions and other political entities to give loans beyond the $1100 limit;
Makes riding associations responsible for unpaid loans to prevent candidates from avoiding payment.
The Liberal Party’s fundraising ability has been dramatically reduced by the current limits imposed by the Accountability Act, and they oppose this new bill to close the lending loophole.Despite this, the bill is expected to pass the House of Commons with the support of all the other political parties, but it may be blocked by the Liberal dominated Senate.
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