Bloc riding transfers $185,000 to Liberals

[scribblet]

Hmmmm, where did it go - more brown paper bags or - oh now - say it isn't so - a Liberal 'in and out'

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/f...o-liberals.aspx

Steve Janke: Bloc riding transfers $185,000 to Liberals

But look at Part 2 of the Liberal Party return, listing transfers to the party. Twelve of the thirteen transfer for the latest quarter were $5,000 or less. But that thirteenth transfer was in a league of its own: The riding association for Chambly-Borduas transferred a jaw-dropping $185,000 to the Liberal Party on September 22.

September 22 was the day the Liberals released their party platform. That coincidence probably doesn't mean anything. But $185,000! Wow.

Just to get a sense of scale, this riding association reported a total of $436.25 in donations in 2007. An additional $1200 came into the riding association from the Liberal Party. In 2006, the riding association reported a grand total of contributions and transfers of $9,550, and in 2005 it was $8,580.90, and only $2060.00 in 2004.

And yet before September of 2008, there is a transfer of $185,000 from this otherwise impoverished riding association to the Liberal Party. Where did that money come from? Remember that the riding of Chambly-Borduas has been sending BQ MPs to Ottawa since 1993, the first general election in which the BQ participated.

[Mr.Canada]

More Liberal shenanigans? Well it has been only a couple of years since Jean Chretien and Paul Martin watched $1.5 Billion dollars flow to Quebec. They certainhly know how to move some money.

According to quarterly financial returns posted by Elections Canada, fewer than 35,000 donors contributed a total of $3.6 million to the Liberal party from January to September this year.

Over the same period, the Conservatives vacuumed up almost $15 million from more than 125,000 individuals.

Even the NDP did better than the Liberals, raking in $3.7 million from almost 44,000 contributors.

The dismal financial news comes just as Liberals are digesting the results of the Oct. 14 election, in which the party fell to its lowest share of the popular vote – 26.2 per cent – since Confederation.

Just wow!

[Keepitsimple]

Just wait till the CBC and the Toronto Star pick up this story - then we'll see some fur fly!

[madmax]

Just wow!

Wow, Just wow!

I have just read The biggest understatement from Mr. Canada.

[William Ashley]

More Liberal shenanigans? Well it has been only a couple of years since Jean Chretien and Paul Martin watched $1.5 Billion dollars flow to Quebec. They certainhly know how to move some money.

Just wow!

Nothing like the 60 Billion that has flowed to the banks in the last few months from the Conservatives.

Edited November 3, 2008 by William Ashley

[Alta4ever]

Nothing like the 60 Billion that has flowed to the banks in the last few months from the Conservatives.

Cite?

[Smallc]

Nothing like the 60 Billion that has flowed to the banks in the last few months from the Conservatives.

They got the entire tax cut? Really?

[scribblet]

Just wait till the CBC and the Toronto Star pick up this story - then we'll see some fur fly!

LOL I'm waiting !

[Smallc]

Are you both blind? Have you not in the past seen the CBC be very critical of the liberal party? I have.

[Alta4ever]

Are you both blind? Have you not in the past seen the CBC be very critical of the liberal party? I have.

Never at budget time!

[Mr.Canada]

Are you both blind? Have you not in the past seen the CBC be very critical of the liberal party? I have.

To be perfectly fair and in my new strategy of being less partisan from now on, yes, you are correct. The CBC has been more critical of the LPC lately. It started when the ADscam broke the airwaves imho.

As a side not, I'm going to make an effort to be less partisan and attack the issues and not make blanket statements which I'm sure have offended some of you.

[bluegreen]

To be perfectly fair and in my new strategy of being less partisan from now on, yes, you are correct. The CBC has been more critical of the LPC lately. It started when the ADscam broke the airwaves imho.

As a side not, I'm going to make an effort to be less partisan and attack the issues and not make blanket statements which I'm sure have offended some of you.

I wouldn't read too much into this. It's probably an Ignatieff loyalist phone bank, or fundraising team that was transferring the take from their election efforts to the central party.

Local EDA's, solidly controlled by a party faction are a convenient way for a power block within a party to build fundraising organisations. They can legally accept donations, and subsequently transfer them pretty well wherever they want, to campaigns, Provincial Divisions, leadership campaigns, other EDA's, or as in this case, the National party.

Allow me to share a funny anecdote about the pitfalls of this device. I once saw a similarly contrived EDA fundraising machine, where a competing faction staged a raid on the EDA. The target EDA had traditionally been weak to the point of nearly defunct. The local EDA constitution was old, and poorly written. It allowed all party members, irrespective of where they lived to exercise voting rights at the executive election. At the next executive election, the sparse local members were surprised when their worst enemies showed up in droves, elected a dissident executive, and promptly transferred two years worth of hard won funds out. There ain't no cure for stupid!

If the Liberals did something crooked, I would be very surprised if it left a paper trail $185,000 wide.

[August1991]

I agree with Bluegreen above.

The title of this thread is misleading. It implies that BQ members transferred money to the federal Liberal Party.

In fact, Chambly-Borduas is a riding on the south shore that has elected a Bloc MP for the past few elections with vote totals between 50% to 60%. The remaining votes have been shared variously among the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP.

There are about 100,000 registered voters in Chambly-Borduas. Under current law, anyone of them can contribute $1000 to a federal political party each year. I have no explanation for why at least 185 of them contributed to the Liberals or why the local riding association decided to pass on this money to the central office. Call me naive but I suspect that there is an obvious, boring explanation.

Edited November 9, 2008 by August1991

[jdobbin]

There are about 100,000 registered voters in Chambly-Borduas. Under current law, anyone of them can contribute $1000 to a federal political party each year. I have no explanation for why at least 185 of them contributed to the Liberals or why the local riding association decided to pass on this money to the central office. Call me naive but I suspect that there is an obvious, boring explanation.

Some riding associations have been building their kitty for some time. If this is money that has been raised for several years, it wouldn't be unusual for there to be that much in the bank.

[cybercoma]

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/f...o-liberals.aspx

Steve Janke: Bloc riding transfers $185,000 to Liberals

National Archives spent $188,000. to put together an oral history of Paul Martin’s time as Prime Minister. Upon request, the transcripts of this taxpayer funded oral history were provided to Paul Martin, which he admits formed the “spine” of his recently released memoirs “Come Hell or High Water: My Life In and Out of Politics”.

Coincidence? hmmm...

[bluegreen]

I agree with Bluegreen above.

The title of this thread is misleading. It implies that BQ members transferred money to the federal Liberal Party.

In fact, Chambly-Borduas is a riding on the south shore that has elected a Bloc MP for the past few elections with vote totals between 50% to 60%. The remaining votes have been shared variously among the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP.

There are about 100,000 registered voters in Chambly-Borduas. Under current law, anyone of them can contribute $1000 to a federal political party each year. I have no explanation for why at least 185 of them contributed to the Liberals or why the local riding association decided to pass on this money to the central office. Call me naive but I suspect that there is an obvious, boring explanation.

Under the Act, there is no legal restriction whatsoever on where a donor resides, so long as they are ELIGIBLE TO VOTE IN CANADA. (Not the same as registered to vote)

That's why I said EDA's are perfect places to stash a fundraising team, they can VOIP call anywhere in Canada. The physical location of the transfer is therefore meaningless.