Conservative Party Of Canada Found Guilty Of Breaking Election Laws
"The Conservative Party was fined $52,000 for breaking election rules in a deal that saw charges dropped against four senior officials, but guilty pleas by the organizations for which they made the decisions.
Under a deal accepted by Judge Celynne Dorval in an Ottawa courtroom Thursday afternoon, the party and its fundraising arm, the Conservative Fund, pleaded guilty to Elections Act charges of incurring election expenses exceeding the maximum allowable and filing election records that didn't set out all expenses.
More serious charges against the party and its fundraising arm of wilfully breaking the laws were withdrawn.
Charges against Senator Doug Finley, the party's former campaign director, and Senator Irving Gerstein, head of the Conservative Fund and chief fundraiser for the party, were withdrawn, as well as charges against Michael Donison, the former national party director, and Susan Kehoe, who served as the party's interim executive director.
The prosecutor told the judge the new charges were still serious and asked for the maximum penalty of a $50,000 fine to the party — $25,000 per charge — and $2,000 to the Fund, $1,000 per charge.
The judge agreed, saying the offences were "of a regulatory nature but significant to the democratic process," and accepted a defence request for 30 days to pay.
The charges were laid under the Canada Elections Act in February relating to the so-called "in-and-out" campaign financing case stemming from the 2006 election. The charges were not criminal.
None of the four Conservative officials were in court Thursday; and were instead represented in the court by their lawyers."
CBC.ca
-Toronto Star
-The Hill Times
-Tories Plead Guilty - CTV News
They copped a plea agreement to avoid the more serious charges. Figures.
Also interesting that this story broke after 5:00 pm on a Thursday just before Remembrance Day Friday.
Posted by
Beijing York |
6:44 pm, November 10, 2011
Absolutely. They're hoping that tomorrow's holiday supersedes any other national events and then by Saturday morning this is 'old news'. Some of us will keep nattering away about it for awhile.
Posted by
leftdog |
10:39 pm, November 10, 2011
That isn't surprising, The "Harper Government"....broke the election laws. Harper was absolutely desperate to win a majority, so he approved of the cheating. Harper associates himself with the criminal element. He had a many times convicted American felon working for him. Felon Carson and his ex prostitute girlfriend were guests in the Harper home. The robocalls, to confuse Canadians, of where their voting locations had been changed to, came out of North Dakota, in the good old U.S.A. Hmmmm
Then there was Gordon Campbell, with the dirtiest, most corrupt and foul political record in the history of Canada. Campbell did a lot of dirty work for Harper. His reward was, Harper gave Campbell the appointment of, High Commissioner to England.
Harper should be forced to resign, for cheating to win. He is a Neo-Nazi. He is a Reformer, and founded the Northern Foundation Party. The skinheads assisted Harper to organize the party. This was back in 1989. Harper even has the gall, to go to the Armistice day services.
Our young Canadian boys were blown into fragments, so we wouldn't have a, fascist, dictatorship regime. Harper was not worth dying for.
Posted by
Gloria |
11:46 am, November 11, 2011
Gloria, while I agree with you on almost all of what you've said, I'd like to point out that we're already living in a dictatorship.
It's called the monarchy.
Posted by
Canadian Patriot |
6:24 pm, November 11, 2011
Why doesn't it surprise me that the Conservatives were caught cheating? Harper goose steps to the same music as Baby Bush in the US, and we know how he distorted truth and integrity beyond all recognition.
Now Harper and his cronies will run rough shod over the country ---peroguing government, limiting debate through closure, stacking the Senate (many PMs have done that) and the Supreme Court . . .
I was scared during the FLQ crisis in 1970, but Harper scares me more.
Posted by
Winnie G Cat |
2:18 am, November 20, 2011