The Sixth Estate

There were two major developments in the ongoing, CBC-led investigation of election misconduct by Harper regime governmental affairs minister Peter Penashue in Labrador. First, it was alleged by the Liberals and by the CBC that Penashue’s campaign appears to have taken a $5500 donation from a corporation. This is illegal under the election law: corporations and unions cannot donate to political parties. Individuals can donate, but only up to a maximum of $1100.

The weirdest part about the whole saga is that Penashue is already known to have flagrantly violated the election law. It was reported over the summer that his campaign violated the spending cap law. Everything that had happened since then — the mysterious loan from an in-law’s development company, the massive cost overruns on his airfare (which were partially written off, perhaps illegally, thus bringing his “actual” spending back down to the spending limit or thereabouts), the alleged corporate donation, and all the rest — all of this is just extra. We know he broke the elections law. Yet he is still in Cabinet, still in the Conservative caucus, and more importantly, still uncharged by Elections Canada. How is this state of affairs even conceivable?

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CBC has been doing superb work researching financial improprieties with respect to the election campaign of the Harper regime’s Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, Peter Penashue of Labrador, for some months now. I avoided commenting because there didn’t seem like anything I could add to the record, but in light of the fact that it’s become clear the Harper regime will not be investigating or punishing wayward ministers anyways, unless they’re women, I might as well put the allegations here, too, on the record. Plus, I’m thinking of putting together a set of pages to memorialize allegations of election misconduct. Sixth Estate is a poor substitute for an Elections Canada investigation, but, well, we all know how effective those are.

The Penashue accusations which emerged over the summer were kind of scattershot, but with the latest entry in CBC’s investigation, I think it’s possible to see what happened.

First, we should review the campaign spending rules. The law sets limits on how much individuals can donate to a campaign ($1100 for individuals, and $0 for corporations and other organizations), and on how much a politician’s campaign can spend during the election (typically around $90,000-$100,000, but it varies depending on the size of the riding). Campaigns can borrow money, but they have to pay market interest rates, and it has to be paid off in several years’ time, or else it counts as a donation. The same applies to goods and services purchased: if you get a discount, the discount counts as a donation. They can also receive transfers from other riding associations of the same party. Once it’s all over, all the expenses have to be submitted to Elections Canada. If you’re over your spending limit, or you hide expenses, that’s an offence.

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