Tories may have taken in $1.7m in illegal donations
The Hamilton Spectator VIA StopLying.ca
June 29, 2006
The Conservative party may have illegally accepted $1.7 million in unreported donations last year because it didn't understand political financing laws.
That's the startling conclusion drawn from testimony given to a Senate committee by the Harper administration's point man on cleaning up government.
Treasury Board President John Baird told the committee late Tuesday that his party did not consider fees paid to attend its March 2005 policy convention to be political contributions.
In fact, the Elections Act stipulates that convention fees do constitute a donation "to the extent that the person paying the fee is not receiving a good or service that has any commercial value beyond its political value."
Article Posted at www.KnowledgeDrivenRevolution.com
Any portion of a convention fee that covers lodging, meals or travel does not count as a contribution.
The Tories' 2005 convention was attended by about 2,900 party members, who paid a regular fee of $600 each, although discounts were available for some. That means the party stood to rake in as much as $1.7 million, all or some of which should have been reported to Elections Canada as donations.

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