MP Toews slams NDP, Elections Manitoba

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This article was published 29/05/2009 (6081 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STILL smarting from his own election-financing conviction during his time as a provincial politician, Treasury Board President Vic Toews called for a public inquiry Thursday into the way Elections Manitoba investigated the NDP’s 1999 campaign finances.

"On the basis of recent media reports and a number of private conversations that I have had with individuals who have inside knowledge of how Elections Manitoba conducted itself after the 1999 provincial election, I believe it is absolutely essential that there be a full public inquiry into the conduct of Elections Manitoba and its officials," Manitoba’s senior federal minister said in a statement.

"The people of Manitoba have every reason to expect an impartial elections commission supervising their provincial elections."

Premier Gary Doer flatly rejected Toews’ demand, saying he has every confidence in the rigour and independence of Elections Manitoba.

"We will stand up for the integrity of that office," Doer said.

It’s highly unusual for the province’s senior federal minister — who was Manitoba’s attorney general when an election-rigging scandal engulfed his own party a decade ago — to call on a provincial government to launch an inquiry into an independent agency.

The move was fresh fodder for the Tory opposition, who hammered the NDP during the most volatile question period this year. At issue for the Tories is an Elections Manitoba probe into an NDP practice designed to maximize taxpayer-funded rebates.

During the 1999 race, union staffers worked for 13 NDP campaigns. Instead of listing those workers as a donation-in-kind, they were recorded as an expense. That’s because the unions invoiced the NDP for the workers’ salaries and the NDP paid the bill. That qualified the party for a rebate. The unions donated the salaries back to the NDP.

The NDP says its lawyers felt the practice was within campaign finance laws, but the party settled the matter and repaid $76,000 rather than risk the controversy and cost of a court case.

After the 1999 Manitoba election, Toews was charged with exceeding the advertising spending limit by $7,500. He initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea and paid a $500 fine.

 

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca

 

Elections Manitoba speaks

The agency that governs the province’s democracy wouldn’t comment on Treasury Board President Vic Toews’ call for an inquiry. But spokeswoman Mary Skanderbeg stressed the following points:

When deciding whether charges should be laid against a party, Elections Manitoba always relies on two independent legal opinions. Elections Manitoba always acts consistent with those recommendations. The independent advice we received was that there should be no charges against the NDP.

By law, investigations are conducted in private.

Elections Manitoba is completely independent and non-partisan and applies its authority in a consistent manner regardless of the party.