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Two Tory Campaign Officials Facing Charges Related to 2008 Election
Thu, 2013-05-09 00:28
#1
Two Tory Campaign Officials Facing Charges Related to 2008 Election
Thu, 2013-05-09 00:48
#2
In the fall of 2012, Elections Canada quietly filed charges against Conservative official agent Paul Gallardo, who worked for Liberal-turned-Tory Wajid Khan in the Mississauga-Streetsville riding and Harvey Venier, who signed off on the paperwork for Jim Abbott, former Kootenay-Columbia Conservative MP. ...
Gallardo "allegedly failed to "provide additional documents that were requested by the agency in 2010, apparently due to problems with the initial campaign return. Venier now faces five charges stemming from both the 2006 and 2008 elections. ...
A spokesperson for the agency confirms that both cases are still before the court. ...
When news broke last week that charges had been laid against former Liberal campaign worker Anandeep Gill, both Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre took to twitter to share their thoughts on the matter:
The Conservative Party also sent out talking points on the charges, which described Gill as a 'senior Liberal operative,' and stated that the 'actions from Elections Canada speak for themselves.' "
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/inside-politics-blog/2013/05/two-tory-ca...
If Elections Canada is dealing with issues from the 2006 and 2008 elections, it seems unlikely that we will get any action on the robocalls of the 2011 election before the next election. Furthermore, by dealing with "quietly", the most effective deterrent to future illegal campaign activity - exposure - is lost.
Thu, 2013-05-09 01:29
#3
Meanwhile, on May 3rd the court proceedings against Michael Soma, seen above with Harper, for violations of the Election Act were adjorned until May 31. So far he is the only person charged in the robocalls scandal.
"But it will likely be many more months before the case against former Conservative campaign worker Michael Sona, 24, goes to trial. ... No plea was entered before the court and no trial date has been set. ...
Crown David Doney told the court that disclosure of evidence against Sona had been made to his legal counsel. ...
Sona is charged under the Canada Elections Act with preventing or trying to prevent an elector from voting in the May 2, 2011, election. He was not required to attend his first appearance on the charge and did not come to court Friday."
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/mobile/news/top-stories/Sona+robocalls+proc...
Thu, 2013-05-09 12:14
#4
Elections Canada process is always glacial.
And they will be slow on the robocalls. But the case you are talking about is essentially their normal kind of case.
The robocall cases have a ton of resources in them, compared to these more routine cases.