Harper government funneled money to second Conservative candidate

OTTAWA - Immigration Minister Diane Finley must immediately produce all relevant documentation on why Citizenship and Immigration Canada allocated almost $600,000 to a consulting company owned and operated by Conservative Candidate Wai Young just months after she won her nomination.

In January of 2008, Ms. Young was acclaimed as the Conservative candidate in the British Columbia riding of Vancouver South. Just three months later, on April 23, 2008, Citizen and Immigration Canada awarded a $578,590 grant to her company, Wai Young & Associates, for a three-day professional development conference.

Ms. Young's campaign manager, Lois Johnson, said the money came in the form of a contract that Ms. Young had bid for through a request-for-proposal, a process used in government tendering. The Citizenship and Immigration department, however, lists it as a federal grant, which unlike a contract, is not subject to a tendering process.

Ms. Johnson also said Ms. Young consulted with the Ethics Commissioner to ensure she was not in a conflict of interest. However, the Ethics Commissioner has the responsibility to administer the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons and the Conflict of Interest Act for public office holders. The Ethics Commissioner has no mandate to provide advice to candidates.

This is the second time in this election that revelations have surfaced about a Conservative candidate receiving funding from the Harper government right after winning their nomination.

Last month, Rosamond Luke was dumped as the Conservative candidate in Halifax and subsequently fired as the executive director of the Women's Empowerment and Development Association following revelations about a past criminal record and reports that she had received a $142,700 grant from the Status of Women on behalf of the association soon after becoming the Conservative candidate. She was subsequently suspended from her post over "accounting irregularities."