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NDP beefs, auditor cut off

Electoral chief insists agency wasn't influenced

By: Mary Agnes Welch

Posted: 05/26/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

WINNIPEG – The NDP pressured Elections Manitoba to reassign a forensic auditor tasked with looking into the party's 1999 campaign finance paperwork, according to documents which raise new questions about Premier Gary Doer's first election victory.

According to a series of letters tabled Monday night at a committee hearing, the NDP's then-provincial secretary Tom Milne wrote to Elections Manitoba to complain about a chartered accountant hired to investigate allegations the NDP had improperly filed campaign expenses.

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The allegations resulted in the NDP repaying more than $76,000 in public subsidies improperly claimed by Premier Gary Doer's party.

But before that happened, letters suggest the NDP failed to co-operate with auditor David Asselstine's investigation and demanded that he be removed from another similar review of the party's 2001 annual expenses.

"It has become quite clear to the NDP that Mr. Asselstine is firmly of the view that the party has conducted itself improperly..." Milne wrote to Elections Manitoba in September 2002. "Whether or not Mr. Asselstine's views result in charges being laid remains to be seen, however it is clear that he believes we have in some way, shape or form violated the Elections Finance Act."

Elections Manitoba severed its relationship entirely with Asselstine shortly after the NDP wrote to complain.

On Monday night, the opposition Tories said the matter raises serious questions about the integrity and independence of Elections Manitoba.

"This issue of independence is right at the heart of any democracy," Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen said.

Chief electoral officer Richard Balasko said he acts only in the public interest and has never felt pressured by any political party.

"I have never felt or received any government pressure to make a decision," he told MLAs in one of his rare public appearances. "Elections Manitoba is completely independent and completely non-partisan. That is a factual statement."

Balasko also said it is policy that auditors doing investigations into improper election returns should not be assigned to do routine compliance reviews of annual party spending. That's why the NDP's complaint about Asselstine had merit.

And he said Asselstine and Elections Manitoba parted ways because of contractual disputes.

The issue dates back to the 1999 election, which saw Doer defeat the Tories after more than a decade in opposition.

In that election, union staff who left their day jobs to work full time on campaigns weren't classified as a donation in kind but rather a campaign expense that could be partly rebated from public coffers. After three years of wrangling, the NDP was forced to repay $76,000 in taxpayer-funded rebates that the party improperly claimed.

It is still unclear why the NDP was never charged with falsifying campaign finance records when other politicians have been charged for similar infractions, but Balasko said he complied with expert legal advice on the matter. He said legislation prohibits him from commenting on investigations.

In a later letter sent in 2003, Asselstine said the NDP repeatedly complained to Elections Manitoba about his investigation into the 1999 campaign paperwork. He wrote that Milne even threatened to "take every step possible to ensure that Asselstine would never get another cent of the government's money for work."

Justice Minister Dave Chomiak said all parties complain to Elections Manitoba about perceived biases, but he said the NDP never attempted to influence Balasko or impede his investigation.

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 26, 2009 A4

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