Free classified ads | Online Auctions | Our Weeklies | Long distance call | Weblocal
The Chronicle
Send this text to a friend Print this article Comment on this article

Tories should be held in contempt of Parliament, say Liberals

Canadian Press Article online since August 11st 2008, 23:00
Be the first to comment on this article
Tories should be held in contempt of Parliament, say Liberals
Ethics Committee Chairman Paul Szabo waits to see if the scheduled witnesses will show up, before the start of the committee. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tom Hanson
OTTAWA - Liberals say the Conservative party could be found in contempt of Parliament, after a report that a party official advised a witness he could ignore a summons to testify at a Commons inquiry into the Tory "in-and-out" election financing scheme.

The official agent for a Conservative candidate in Toronto told The Canadian Press on Tuesday that he and other potential witnesses were told by an organizer for the federal party as late as Monday that they didn't have to testify at the inquiry if they didn't want to.
Douglas Lowry said the organizer, whom he named as Carmen McGregor, gave the advice after he and others received summonses from the Commons ethics committee.
"We've all been told," Lowry said.
Liberal MP Derek Lee, an author of texts on parliamentary procedure and rules, said it would be a serious offence if the Conservative party did indeed advised witnesses they need not heed a summons.
"Overt discouragement of attendance of a witness who's been summoned would constitute basis for contempt," he said.
The Liberal chair of the ethics committee, Paul Szabo, said potential interference with witnesses "would be a matter which should be, or could be, subject to its own investigation."
Lowry made the surprising admission to the committee that the federal party transferred $50,000 to his candidate's campaign in the Toronto riding of Trinity Spadina only because there was no hope the campaign would reach its local spending limit on its own.
He said he transferred the money back to the party only a week later in payment for radio and television ads his campaign had nothing to do with.
Furthermore, he admitted the payment would have meant $30,000 in election rebates for the Trinity Spadina Tory campaign had his candidate, Sam Goldstein, won more than 10 per cent of the vote.
Lowry's claim that he and other potential witnesses were informed they didn't have to attend the meeting came after four Conservative witnesses failed to show up for a morning session of the inquiry into $1.3 million worth of questionable Conservative election advertising expenses.
Szabo abruptly adjourned the meeting, linking the absences to a controversial earlier report from a committee clerk who said that unidentified Conservatives told her, as she was arranging initial invitations to the inquiry, that the party had advised them not to testify.
Over heated objections from the Tories, the committee is inquiring into the ethical conduct of 17 parliamentary secretaries and cabinet ministers who took part in the Conservative ad scheme, which is also under investigation by the federal elections commissioner and the subject of a civil lawsuit in Federal Court.
"That's what they told me, they said you don't have to come," Lowry said in an interview shortly before his committee appearance.
He went on to tell MPs a party official had also discussed the possibility of arranging party "talking points" to help guide the witnesses through their answers to questions from MPs, but they were not provided to him.
Asked later whether the Conservative official gave him the advice about not obeying the summons after he had received it, Lowry replied: "Yes."
He said he and the other Conservatives were given the advice Monday, adding that McGregor said it in her capacity as a Conservative official.
"She said it, but she's from the party. She would contact whoever the executive director is. Those people would decide, or Doug Finley (the party's top political organizer), he's the guy that would. I'm sure all people would be spoken to, yes."
Conservative MP Dean Del Maestro confirmed the party has a Toronto regional organizer named McGregor, whom he said he has met, but said he believe her first name is Carma not Carmen.
Conservative party spokesman Ryan Sparrow did not respond to an email asking for a comment or response from McGregor.
NDP MP Pat Martin praised Lowry's openness with the committee, but criticized the Conservatives for possibly deterring other witnesses.
"If that's part of a pattern then it's some attempt to steer, if not to interfere with, the witnesses. I resent it," said Martin.
"Mr. Lowry is a standup guy, he's telling the truth. I think they're digging themselves into a deep, deep hole. Everything the Conservatives are doing has the stink of desperation all over it."
The committee cannot force witnesses to appear if they ignore a formal summons. It would have to report to the Commons when Parliament resumes in the fall and ask the full House to compel the witness to appear, or recommend a finding of contempt of Parliament.
Conservative MP Gary Goodyear angrily challenged Szabo over the summonses he signed for a total of 31 witnesses, demanding Szabo produce affidavits of service to prove they had been served.
Goodyear also demanded Szabo produce a record of the telephone contacts between the committee clerk and the potential witnesses.
In another development Tuesday, A defeated Quebec Conservative candidate, David Marler, told the committee he declined a demand from the party that he accept a large cash transfer in and out of his campaign. He said he made decision because he did not know what the transaction was for, and a senior provincial party official refused to tell him.
Elections Canada alleges the party transferred the money in and out of campaign accounts for 67 candidates to skirt the party's national campaign spending limit and artificially increase campaign expense reimbursements for local candidates who had little chance of winning and low donation levels in their areas.
©All rights reserved, news from Canadian Press
Send this text to a friend Send this text to a friend
Print this articlePrint this article
Comment on this articleComment on this article

These articles could also interest you

Your comments

Full name:
(required)


Email address:


Your comments :
(required)


Please retype the word displayed below Can't read the word?

Please retype the word displayed below:


Most read news

Montréal Express

Related Newspapers


Our WeekliesOur Weeklies

Reader Poll


View the resultsView the results
RSS Feed

Headline news

Links


Links Links