In and out in Court

In-and-out case might finally go to court

Good reason for the Conservatives to try to avoid a fall election

By Glen McGregor , The Ottawa Citizen
April 28, 2009


The Conservative Party’s legal action against Elections Canada could finally be heard in court this summer after two years of legal wrangling over advertising purchases in the 2006 campaign.

Elections Canada on Tuesday filed its final written reply to the Tories’ claim that Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand wrongly disallowed $1.2 million in expense claims for radio and TV ads filed by its candidates.

The agency contends that party officials used a “scheme” of wire transfers coordinated by its national headquarters to funnel the costs of advertising through the campaigns of 67 candidates.
The Conservatives have repeatedly claimed they followed the Elections Act and insist that other parties made similar “in and out” transactions.

The argument filed in Federal Court on Friday notes that the party was very close to its $18.3 million spending cap during the election and would have exceeded it had it included the costs of the disputed ads on its books.

It also says that Quebec Conservative candidates who participated spent $761,000 on the media buys, while the national party listed spending only $180,000 in Quebec, out of the $8 million it spent on ads across the country.

“[It] appears unusual that the Party would have spent a mere 2% of its total advertising expenses in Quebec,” the document says.

An official close to the case said the court could schedule oral hearings in the politically-charged dispute as early as this summer.

While the Federal Court case unfolds, Commissioner of Elections William Corbett is continuing his own investigation into the Tories’ financing of their campaign. Last year, his officials executed search warrants for documents and electronic records at Conservative party headquarters in Ottawa. His investigation is continuing, according to the argument by Elections Canada.

If he finds wrongdoing, Corbett could refer it to the director of public prosecutions for possible charges under the Elections Act.