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Subtle as a sledgehammer

Adam Radwanski, April 15, 2008 at 2:36 PM EDT

"Police officers in civilian clothes, but wearing flak jackets and one wearing a holster, entered and left the offices at 130 Albert Street, but refused further comment."

So reports the Toronto Star from today's festivities at Conservative HQ. Which only makes sense: Who knew what receptionist or mid-level organizational director could burst out from behind a corner, willing to go down firing rather than surrender their incendiary fundraising documents?

Certainly, it's impossible to imagine the RCMP was just putting on a show. Sure, it may occasionally be prone to, say, tipping off the media beforehand so it can get some nice exposure acting on warrants that name high-profile politicians. But it only does that when its cases are completely, 100% rock solid, not as ambiguous as this one.

So no, Paul, I have no idea what you're on about. The mere suggestion that our national police force would let itself get wrapped up in a showy raid it hadn't entirely thought through is so preposterous I refuse to even consider the possibility.

  1. D. B. from Greater Sask., Canada writes: The wearing of flak jackets is surely part of the (hah, hah) organizational culture of security forces that wish to be considered their salt. A bigger issue is, were they wearing those skin-tight white gloves they always keep handy for dealing with every situation they encounter? After that, I am truly done posting for a good long while now.
  2. William Ross from Victoria BC, Canada writes: I have a question regarding this in and out scheme that is claimed to be illegal by Elections Canada and apparently all parties are using a variation of this then why are the other parties not being investigated as well? Could this be a political vendetta? After all elections canada got really upset with the Conservatives right after the Cons came in?
  3. Toby Maloney from Canada writes: A SWAT team arrested a bunch of activists at gun point off the coast of Newfoundland this week, why not flak jackets to brace the Conservatives?

    Let me remind you the Conservatives are known to have a "war room," have vowed to "fight" the Elections Commissioner and have been seen parading about in military uniforms on several occasions in the last two years even though they aren't actually in the armed forces (para-military? militia?).
  4. Dana Dana from Canada writes: You'll need to provide some kind of proof for the assertion that all parties do it, William Ross.

    A "political vendetta". huh? Is that related to "media bias" perchance?

    Wouldn't it all just be so much easier for Conservatives if none of these impertinent democratic institutions existed? Who needs a free press when you have John Baird? Who needs elections Canada when you have Michael Fortier?

    Given a majority I fully expect the Harperites to begin gutting any and all government oversight offices including Elections Canada.
  5. John G from Ottawa, Canada writes: The G&M was very quick to defend their beloved Liberals and suggest a political agenda was at play when Zaccardelli's press release came out during the election.

    Curious that given Elections Canada's known Liberal bias, that no mention of a possible political motivation was made now that the Conservatives were on the other end.

    Given that the Conservatives are cooperating fully with Elections Canada; why did Elections Canada even bother feeling the need to call in the RCMP other than to produce a show?
  6. boris moris from vancouver, Canada writes: Gee Adam....your sarcasm is becoming so sophisticated I'm not sure I can tell the difference any more.

    "The mere suggestion that our national police force would let itself get wrapped up in a showy raid it hadn't entirely thought through is so preposterous I refuse to even consider the possibility."

    I'm sure Ralph Goodale would want to argue that statement was not entirely thought through.
  7. True North from Canada writes: Haven't seen good 'mysterious box' footage like that since Conrad Black was caught on candid camera. Harper does not claim that the case against the CPC is without merit, rather only that their alibi is "rock solid".
  8. boris moris from vancouver, Canada writes: Oh..silly me. I forgot that the RCMP does have agendas which are completely at odds with what they are actually paid to do. I'm the one who didn't think things through.
  9. Bill Harrison from Canada writes: I noted Stephane Dion was most supportive of the RCMP action. It is a 180 degree turn from the way the Liberals have been critical of the RCMP. Also, I have to ask, why was the media present for this event. Did the RCMP invite the media to be present, or did Election Canada alert the media? Very suspicious!
  10. Bill Harrison from Canada writes: And now I read that the Liberal party was present with their own cameras, according to a media report getting material for political ads. So, I ask again who alerted the media, and the Liberal party? Is Elections Canada a party to this?
  11. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: D. B. from Greater Sask:-- Say it isn't so. There would hardly be much reason to read the threads if all the good posters give up. I can hardly blame them what with infestation of multiple monikers and "monikers of convenience" (armed with talking points).
  12. J K GALBRAITH from Canada writes: Bill Harrison: The police/media compact of you scratch my back and I will scratch yours has been going on for decades and happens at all levels. No one should ever be surprised at how quickly the media know when a police action is taking place.
  13. Catherine S. from Canada writes: I want to know who invited our media to this event? Was it Elections Canada or was it the RCMP? Maybe our media should asking and coming clean on this obvious orchestration. But, I would suspect that our media is just too lazy to actually do some real reporting.
  14. D. B. from Greater Sask., Canada writes: diane-marie: I am not giving up yet! This must be a very complicated situation, this Elections Canada-CPC legal battle. Maybe CPC is stonewalling, hence the need for tough action by EC. But if the two parties are in an adversarial situation, as witnessed by the court action; how can one of the adversaries go to the offices of the other one and get documents? Not that I would be opposed to such action!Very complicated. And it was CPC that initiated the court action. But EC must certainly have been within its rights to get the warrant. The RCMP would be present in a law enforcement capacity. But the flak jackets . . .
  15. OPEN cheque book , behind closed doors HONEST GOV. from Canada writes:

    ADAM : ARE YOU SURE RALPH GOODDALE WAS NOT THERE ?
  16. I'm Not A Westerner, I Live In BC from Canada writes: Amateurs! Where was the officer with the ghetto blaster cranking out "bad boys, bad boys, who you gonna call when they come for you." Now that would have been a show.
    Thanks
  17. sonya l from Toronto, Canada writes:
    Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:35:05

    Subject:
    fwd: fundamental journalistic duty/responsibility: inform Canadians re Election Canada ALSO investigating fed Libs

    To: Ombudsman@cbc.ca

    CC: Mary_Sheppard@CBC.CA, ...

    BEWARE: do not blindly take CP's story if they do not properly include below news/item/stuff:

    -------------------------

    Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:40:37

    To: Patti.Tasko@thecanadianpress.com, robert.russo@thecanadianpress.com

    CC: ...

    Dear Mr Russo/Ottawa bureau:

    As kindly referred to you by Patti Tasko, this is follow up to my detailed conversation with her few minutes ago:

    Re: 'Elections Canada Commissioner raiding CPC in Ottawa'

    Fundamental journalistic duty/responsibility: inform Canadians that Election Canada Commissioner is ALSO investigating fed Libs and their accomplices re March 17 By Election.

    Below is reverse chronological complaint/correspondence with/from Commissioner.

    Anytime, for any q's, free to call
    ...
    thanks all

    --------------------

    Subject: RE: fed By-election complaint - G&M Advertising Libs during black out

    Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2008 16:49:33 -0400

    From: "CommissionersOffice"

    Dear Mr. ...:

    We acknowledge receipt of your email dated March 17, 2008.

    Our understanding, from the information that you have sent us, is that you have concerns about a photo accompanying the article "Voting Under Way In Federal By-Elections" as it appeared at 2:06 p.m. on the Globe and Mail website. Do you have a copy of the full text of that article as it appeared at 2:06 pm. If you do have a copy, could you send it to our office in order that we may complete our investigation into this matter.

    Could also provide us with ...

    Thank you

    ... con't ...
  18. Trillian Rand from Canada writes: Wow, so much speculation from so little information.

    First, Elections Canada asked the RCMP to assist them with their visit to the Conservative offices. If anyone is to blame for what happened or how, surely Elections Canada must accept part of the blame.

    Second, Elections Canada has been engaged in several discussions with the Conservative Party. That any of them was the reason behind this raid is pure speculation. That they would 'raid' the offices while a civil case is before the courts is speculation without merit and would surely attract the attention of the presiding judge.

    Elections Canada was looking for something. What we do not know at this time. They asked for the RCMP's assistance for reasons only they know. The RCMP assisted. This is one of their functions.

    Frankly, most of the remarks directed toward the RCMP should have been made against Elections Canada. Red flags against the RCMP are only distractions from the real story which will probably be far more interesting.
  19. sonya l from Toronto, Canada writes: test
  20. sonya l from Toronto, Canada writes:
    part 2

    ... see 15/04/08 5:10PM

    March 17, 08 4:27 PM

    TO: Elections Canada - Commissioner

    Cc: info@robclarke.ca; brianmorin@sasktel.net; robin.orr@greenparty.ca; mjones@greenparty.ca; mjones@partivert.ca; info@elfaroukkhaki.ca; doug@etfacoustic.com; contact@christindal.ca; jeff@christindal.ca; media@christindal.ca; rebeccacoad@ndp.ca; info@canadianactionparty.ca; dan@votegrice.com; info@deborahmeredith.ca; contactlou@votelou.ca; manthony10@rogers.com; jklandy@aol.com; admin@willowdalendp.ca; info@maureenharquail.ca

    Subject: fed By-election complaint - G&M Advertising Libs during black out

    Dear Commissioner:

    I am referred to you by Ms. Marguerite Menard, Inquiries Supervisor, Elections Canada, whom I spoke to an hour ago.

    Please see enclosed below a screen shot of the Globe and Mail on-line home page of the "National" section, as of 2:06 pm today. (see also attached file "20080317 complaint - G&M Advertising Libs during black out.pdf").

    This is complaint about the picture/photo with front-in-your face of Red Lib pamphlet/brochure, and Red Lib poster on the wall in the photo's backdrop.

    I can not accept that this is not 'paid' in any way, direct or indirect, 'ad' during the black out.

    Keep in mind that e.g. The G&M and Lib (Ontario 'causins') have been complained against of blatant media-Lib irregularities during the Ont Election Oct 10 2007 - see attached file

    "20071010 to elections ontario re G&M & Lib.pdf"

    about "Decimation of any semblance of free and democratic Ont. Election '07"

    ...
    T.O.

    http://i31.tinypic.com/2itlxrq.jpg

    http://i27.tinypic.com/1zehych.jpg

    http://i31.tinypic.com/wgvk86.jpg
  21. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    Haha, Cons are so predictable.

    Replace "Tory offices" with "Liberal offices" and there'd be no talk of "media bias", or "RCMP agenda", and what have you.

    You Cons would no doubt be spewing bile about LPC corruption, and puking up no end of anti-liberal vitriol.

    You sure loved it when the RCMP invented a scandal for you during the 2006 election - a scandal that turned out to be 100% FALSE, by the way.

    Just be glad this little event - which I'm thinking will be quite illuminating - is happening and not the week before election day.
  22. Catherine L from Canada writes: John G, what known Liberal bias of Elections Canada? EC is headed by Mayrand, a Harper apointee. Why would Harper appoint someone with a known Liberal bias?

    Just because Harper disagrees with someone, does not make him/her a Liberal. Harper also appointed the head of AECL and then supposedly "fired" him, causing a public rift between the two even though the appointee was a loyal Conservative and fundraiser. Harper is not beyond getting into fights with Conservative appointees if they get in his way.
  23. Bill Harrison from Canada writes: Mr. Galbraith, I agree there is probably a quid pro quo between the police and the media. My questions remains, why were cameras for the Liberal party present recording potential material for political ads. Was Elections Canada, or the RCMP complicit in informing the Liberals what was going to take place, and in allowing them to be present?
  24. Bill Harrison from Canada writes: Catherine L.: The Chief Electoral Officer is not an appointee of the Prime Minister. He is chosen by a vote of the Parliament of Canada, which, as we all know does not have a Government majority, and the CEO is responsible to Parliament, not the Prime minister.
  25. K. B. from Canada writes: Dana Dana, the Conservatives listed a number of similar practices by other parties, in their affidavit filed for the court battle between them and Elections Canada.

    http://tinyurl.com/5cf9f8

    If it is true that Liberal party people were there with cameras, and were there from the get-go, then I think it does raise more than a few questions.

    The whole affair is a molehill being spun as a mountain. In the worst case scenario, the judge will rule that no one intentionally or wilfully broke the law, that such "in-and-out" practices are illegal going forward, and will provide clarification as to what's a-ok, and what's not. Which is basically what should've been done by Elections Canada in the first place.

    Anyone comparing this to AdScam - where we had party officials intentionally and wilfully breaking the law; who would have obviously known at the time that they were breaking laws by their actions - is frankly an idiot.
  26. True North from Canada writes: sonya l from Toronto, Canada: right on sister! Though I am not a CPC supporter and find your position partisan, good on you for working the system instead of rambling on the boards here. Respect.
  27. Daniel Cunningham from Victoria, writes: True North - sonya l is some wackjob who posts the exact same set of comments every time Elections Canada is mentioned in any way shape or form - and each time its under a different nickname.
  28. Vern McPherson from writes: " Liberal MP Garth Turner recalls that when he was still with the Conservatives, the riding association in Hull-Aylmer in March 2006 talked openly about a money transfer. "I was asked to be the guest speaker ... but before I gave my speech the treasurer gave their report for the annual meeting and they had more than $40,000, which was transferred into their bank account and then the same day they wrote a cheque back to the central party. And by transferring $40,000 into their bank account during the campaign they got a 60 per cent rebate," said Turner, who was kicked out of the Tory caucus earlier this year. Actually the amount transferred to the western Quebec riding across from Ottawa was $48,558.55 and it was transferred back four days later. But Elections Canada is withholding the rebate along with several others until the outcome of the Federal Court decision "Of course they didn't spend it on the campaign, they just gave it back, labelled it as advertising and then booked it as an expense ... that's at least $24,000 that the taxpayers gave the Hull-Aylmer Conservative Riding for doing (nothing) – for writing a cheque." ---------------------------------------------------------------- The above money laundering scheme laundering was caught by Elections Canada when the COns pplied for their taxpayer rebates. Liberal campaigning finsances were approved and not questioned buy EC. So you COns apologists/scripted spinners can pouns salt. It's now part of the COns record they want to run on ...............
  29. Political Junkie from Canada writes: What a farce!! Flak jackets and guns; tipped off media; Liberal Party hacks with cameras ready, in advance, to take pictures. A disgraceful setup that someone should be held accountable for. Will cheap shot politics get any more embarrassing than this?
  30. stephen ottridge from vancouver, Canada writes: My opinion of Liberal party of Canada has dropped even lower.
  31. Ricky for a Centrist Canada from Canada writes:
    PJ - you're kidding me, right?

    Harper re-wrote the book on "cheap shot politics". Van Loan, Baird, Kenney, and the rest of the fascist thugs then perfected it.

    Which party ran an ad campaign for no other reason than to smear the leader of the opposition?

    Which party benefited from false accusations against the LPC during an election?

    Go cry somewhere else.

    Pot.

    Kettle.

    Black.

    Period.
  32. nick oliver from halifax, ns, Canada writes: to everyone who thinks either the rcmp or elections canada called the media in order to embarass the conservatives : the media pays for tips from the office where writs and warrants are issued. if anyone famous for anything is named on anything, they pay very well for those tips in order to be the first media outlet to break such stories. no one from the rcmp or ec would need to drop a dime.
  33. Political Junkie from Canada writes: How will this be explained if nothing sinister turns up in the seized documents?
  34. Catherine L from Canada writes: Bill Harrison, what is your point? Mayrand was nominated by Harper and the nomination was tabled by Van Loan. Again, why would Harper choose someone known to be biased toward the Liberals? The Liberals do not hold a majority of the votes.
  35. Bill Harrison from Canada writes: Well, Catherine, I guess you didn't get the point, which you, yourself raised. The CEO is elected by Parliament - yes, on the recommendation of the PM, but with a minority government, the combined Opposition could have rejected the choice. They didn't, so to say the CEO is a Harper appointed is patently false.
  36. Chuck D from Canada writes: What will it take for the Prime Minister to finally admit that the Conservative Party broke the law?
  37. Daniel Cunningham from Victoria, writes: I'm so happy the ConBorgs were raided :-)
  38. True North from Canada writes: Daniel Cunningham from Victoria, writes: True North - sonya l is some wackjob who posts the exact same set of comments every time Elections Canada is mentioned in any way shape or form - and each time its under a different nickname.

    ***
    lol - that may very well be then I at least respect the sentiment of it. :-) Those email addresses would be pretty easy to verify (tho it is not good form to post others' email addresses around the internet - tsk tsk)
  39. True North from Canada writes: nick oliver from halifax, ns, Canada writes: to everyone who thinks either the rcmp or elections canada called the media in order to embarass the conservatives : the media pays for tips from the office where writs and warrants are issued. if anyone famous for anything is named on anything, they pay very well for those tips in order to be the first media outlet to break such stories. no one from the rcmp or ec would need to drop a dime.

    ***
    If there was footage of the RCMP actually arriving then that would indicate a tip-off otherwise the CPC headquarters is in a public building right next to CTV and you can bet the blackberries in Ottawa starting buzzing in a chain reaction.
  40. Philip Yu from Toronto, Canada writes: Now, I'll agree to that, True North. As for John G's assertion that Elections Canada has a Liberal bias, there are also NDPers in the mix that he's forgotten.
  41. Johnny Canuck from Canada writes: It's an amazing country. How election Canada got a judge to issue a warrent is beyond belief. Poilice cannot even get warrent for Hells Angel searches. I looking forward to what the warrents say and who the judge was that issued it.
  42. Expert Eel from OttaPettaOshawawawawa, Canada writes: Wow, the cons are sure on the defensive in this message forum.

    It's surely because that they are aware of the fact that as hard as the C.R.A.P. tried to cheat last election, they only ended up with a Minority govt.

    LMAO!! they can't even cheat right.
  43. doug m from Canada writes: In what kind of third world country does the Elections office have to raid the governing party to get documents it needs. Are we in Zimbabwie? This is shameful. Lets have an election.
  44. Derek Holtom from Swan River, Canada writes: William Ross from Victoria BC, Canada writes: I have a question regarding this in and out scheme that is claimed to be illegal by Elections Canada and apparently all parties are using a variation of this then why are the other parties not being investigated as well?

    that's pretty much the million dollar question, especially since John Ivison has pointed out the Liberals and the NDP have done essentially the same thing.

    I would think the PARTISANS on here might think twice before spouting off on this, but I won't hold my breath

    In one case, the affidavits state that all New Brunswick Liberal candidates, including Mr. LeBlanc, the point-man in attacking the Conservatives over their campaign activities, participated in a regional media buy organized by the national party. "The content of the ads, but for the names of the candidates, is entirely national," the filing states, adding that it appears the invoicing was processed by the national party because it was not listed in Mr. LeBlanc's return. Mr. LeBlanc did not return calls yesterday.

    In total, the Conservative filing said that the national Liberal party made about $1.7-million in monetary transfers to its local candidates in the 2006 election and invoiced its local candidates $1.3-million for goods and services provided to them.

    The NDP was also enthusiastic in its use of "in and out" transfers, according to the Conservatives. The office of Libby Davies, the Vancouver MP, paid the national NDP office $2,612 for radio ads that promoted leader Jack Layton and received a transfer the same day of virtually the same amount. It was accompanied by an e-mail that stated "the good news is that the federal party will transfer $2,600 to the federal riding association as we agreed to pay for the ads."
  45. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: A few points. First of all, posters should not confuse the Electoral Commissioner and the head of Elections Canada who are supposed to operate at arm's length. The CPC suit is with Elections Canada, which refused to pay the taxpayer-supported portion of candidate advertising because EC claims that the advertising was not candidate advertising but national party advertising (which does not qualify for taxpayer support). The Electoral Commissioner launched his own investigation into the in-and-out scheme and it is this latter investigation that is supposedly the reason for the "raid" for documents. However, the suit between the CPC and Elections Canada involved some sort of CPC depositions tomorrow or very soon, so the CPC claims that the "raid" instituted by the Electoral Commissioner (who has nothing to do with the CPC/EC suit, or is supposed not to) was intended to rattle CPC cages or the like. Whether this is true or not is, of course, the question. However, the supposed "other party examples of in-and-out schemes" were thrown out by the Federal Court as being inapplicable, so there goes that excuse/ploy.

    Nevertheless, for Mr. Harper to now be resorting to the usual making of threats and casting of aspersions is a bit inappropriate. He is the PM and the investigations and CPC suit are between the Electoral Commissioner and Elections Canada and the CPC. Mr. Harper should probably keep his mouth shut and let the Party executive/administration handle matters instead of involving his office in what is a Party matter. Perhaps the distinction escapes him.
  46. Johnny Canuck from Canada writes: The Liberals are a joke. There is still 40 million unaccounted for in the sponsorship scandal spending....... Hopefully we will get the name of the judge that issue this silly warrent and what the warrent actually implies,
  47. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: Derek Holtom:-- The in-and-out scheme is not, per se, illegal. What is illegal is election overspending. The CPC claims that its national advertising was really candidate advertising. Elections Canada declined to pay for some of the candidate advertising which it said was national advertising. If it is, in fact, deemed to be national advertising, then the CPC spent more than it was legally entitled to do. You would have an argument were you able to claim that other parties spent beyond their national and/or candidate limits. Are you able to suggest that?
  48. Stephen Green from North Saanich BC, Canada writes: The entire election financing regime is ridiculous and should be abolished. Clearly the regime creates more confusion than what is necessary. In the first place, there should be no limit whatsoever on what a political party spends on its election campaign, either nationally or at the constituency levels.

    The latest action by Elections Canada is sureal and smacks of actions popular with the likes of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.

    Elections are about who can attrack the larger popularity and financing on their own initiative, not how much they spend or indeed the need for taxpayers subsidy.

    Elections Canada are not 'thugs' and must be penalized for their outragous actions on this issue.
  49. Supply-Side Jesus from Canada writes: lol, conbot heads exploding to the left of me, to the right of me, through the valley of reality we go.

    I laugh at he same people who were rallying around the RCMP last week are now disparaging that same outfit.

    Enough is enough, let's take our Canada back.
  50. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: Stephen Green:-- Really, Stephen, so you would be in favour of the circus that is the so-called American democracy, in which Congressmen/women and Senators spend half their time soliciting funds, which undoubtedly come with "obligations", said obligations taken care of by "ear-marks" - pork-barrel budget appropriations - buried in multi-thousand-page budget documents. The purpose of the taxpayer subsidy at the candidate (not national) level is to help everyday people - not millionaires as in the U.S. situation - run for public office. The idea, Stephen, is that when candidates are partly supported directly by the taxpayer, when party support is limited, and when election spending is also limited, there is transparency. If these controls and limits are not in place, the taxpayer will also pay but it will be in a less transparent way. Have you heard of the so-called Bridge to Nowhere? Furthermore, very rich individuals or organizations with an ax to grind can influence the electoral process by the force of money - this is not democracy but paid access to power.
  51. D. B. from Greater Sask., Canada writes: Mr. Harper can suggest what he likes, within the sanctuary of the House. Elections Canada is not saying anything. I would call that silence an indication of professional ethics, and perhaps more. EC is working on this issue in the real world, not in the fantasy world of the House. And about the RCMP's involvement- surely after all the scrutiny the RCMP has come under, it must have done some thinking before getting involved in today's events. In the end, it had to be there; I don't think EC can carry out a warrant by itself.
  52. Derek Holtom from Swan River, Canada writes: diane marie
    I'm hardly a legal expert, but it seems as though this is a fairly common practice by all parties, a loophole that perhaps needs to be closed or changed.
    whether or not any party overspent or not depends on a point of view, and it appears as though each main party has the same point of view - slap a local candidate's name on a national ad and have it count as local spending
    what this all amounts to is which point of view is correct.
    not a very interesting story without the words RCMP and raid in the headline. in fact, I can bet the average person on the street has no idea what this in-and-out thing is all about
  53. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: Derek Holtom:-- It may be a practice by all parties, but only one party seems to have gotten itself in possible trouble for hiding overspending by that means. That, Derek, is the issue and it really isn't a point-of-view one.
  54. Mervin Hollingsworth from Saskatoon, Sk., Canada writes: Unless the RCMP released the info to the media that they were about to show up at Conservtive Party HQ then the only one that could have known and tipped the media is Elections Canada. Why did they do this? Are they fearful their case is going to fall apart when it is exposed to the light of day? What other reason could it possibly be other than to show the party that they are in charge? What were they looking for? A warrant is only issued outlining what Elections Canada specifically wants to see and if they think the party is hiding something. I thought all documentation about the election is supposed to be filed with Elections Canada long ago. What is it that is not public?
  55. Paige Gibson from Canada writes: Regardless of your particular partisan stripe, several disconcerting issues are present throughout much of this thread. Questioning why the RCMP would be entering a premesis wearing flak jackets and holsters is ridiculous. They're the RCMP. If they want to wear flak jackets (which, incidentally, act as law enforcement identifiers as much as protective gear) it's neither over the top nor out of character. They're cops. They wear gear. It's what they do. To then go on to suggest that the RCMP is being puppeted along by Elections Canada is simply offensive. When someone obtains a warrant, the RCMP shows up to enforce it. (My deepest apologies to the dead horse, but if, at the time, they're wearing equipment that Globe & Mail commentators find unneccesary, I think it's safe to say they don't care. Nor should they.) Regarding the tip-off issue - anyone who's dealt with anything on the hill knows that Ottawa is a very small town with very big ears. This could have come from absolutely anywhere. And the last time I checked, the ability of our media to be any place that news is happening was something that most Canadians value very much. Why anyone online today would choose to take issue with the RCMP doing their job and the media doing the same is truly a mystery to me.
  56. I. Rivera from Canada writes: Johnny Canuck from Canada writes: The Liberals are a joke. There is still 40 million unaccounted for in the sponsorship scandal spending....... Hopefully we will get the name of the judge that issue this silly warrent and what the warrent actually implies,

    Johnny, the joker here is obviously you. Do you not ever do some research before you spew insults at anyone? Election Canada, which is non-paritsan might I add, are the ones who raided the CPC Headquarters after not receiving documents they had requested.

    As for Adscam, it was Paul Martin of the Liberal party who requested Judge Gomery, who was a conservative btw, to investigate Adscam.
    If you keep insisting the current Liberal Party has to take the blame for Adscam, you'd better expect Harper to take the blame for Mulroney's shady dealings. There is no difference no matter how you like to paint it. Grow up & use that gray matter you were given.
  57. Frank Richichi from Kanata, Canada writes: Saw the picture of the "raid". Two mounties show up to pick up a parcel that was addressed to someone. Was the addressee Elections Canada?

    Is this another Liberal scandal of the week? Is this another case of Liberals opening up other people's boxes that were missed during an office move?

    The media has a lot of explaining to do on this "raid". If it is dead news tomorrow then you know it was a photo op for the Liberal's election campaign, plain and simple. They staged a photo shoot using public servants as their props. Their sense of entitlement continues.
  58. Geoffrey May from Canada writes: "Subtle" is not an adverb I have ever associated with a police raid .The CPC is based on the principle of individual greed , above the common good .With no moral rudder , is it any wonder that they drift from one corrupt scheme to another .I wonder how the 67 caucus members this scam made co-conspiritors out of ,feel about their role in violating campiagn funding and stealing from taxpayers ? Maybe someone should ask them.
  59. Catherine Wilkie from Canada writes: The Harper Conservatives arrived in Ottawa with a triumphant 'we are clean, transparent, open, and accountable' message that resonated with the electorate and culminated in tossing the other guys out.
    They did this while knowingly having offered a terminally ill member of parliament 'financial considerations' to obtain his independent vote to topple the gov't. They did this while knowingly circumventing the rules of Elections Canada to spend more money than they were allowed to in key ridings. Before they gained office.
    Since office, their patronage and aiming taxpayer's money at votes has been ongoing. They break rules, blame the other guys for doing the same, and then announce they did not know better.
    Canadians know better.
  60. Yogie Bear from The Forest, Canada writes: Con's using the in and out scheme to have their expenses illegally refunded, essentially to 'rip off' the taxpayer.

    Tough on crime indeed!
  61. Vern McPherson from writes:

    "E-mails from Conservative officials showed that for some "regional ad buys" the national party would not even wire their money to the local candidates until local campaign officials had filled out wire instructions authorizing the same sum to be transferred back to the national party.

    "I have realized that this is a transfer in and back out, same day," Brian Hudson, the Conservatives' Newfoundland campaign official, explained in an memo to local campaign officials in December of 2005."

    Claiming phoney refunds from Canadian taxpayers for illegal ad expenses ???? Hundreds of thousands of dollars ? ? Is that like cheating on welfare ?

    There ought to be a public enquiry into this ................
    Find out who the players are and who is responsible ...... fine and jail them.
  62. Yogie Bear from The Forest, Canada writes:
    Vern McPherson from writes: Find out who the players are and who is responsible ...... fine and jail them.

    Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and B.C. MP Dick Harris would be a good start.
  63. Dave T from Toronto, Canada writes: Stephen Green writes: "The entire election financing regime is ridiculous and should be abolished. Clearly the regime creates more confusion than what is necessary. In the first place, there should be no limit whatsoever on what a political party spends on its election campaign, either nationally or at the constituency levels."

    Parties backed by big business and/or wealthy Canadians would have an enormous financial advantage over those that aren't.
  64. pierre lefebvre from Brossard, Canada writes: All CPC is trying to do is simple. Outfox entitlement attitude of LPC. Sort of let me show you what I can do once in power. Something is wrong in Ottawa`s greenhouse. Too much money, too many lobbyists and too little to lose by breaking the laws of Canada.
  65. Joe Little from Calgary, Canada writes: Sadly this country is running by a gang of criminals. Harpo is the gang leader.
  66. Derek Holtom from Swan River, Canada writes: diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: Derek Holtom:-- It may be a practice by all parties, but only one party seems to have gotten itself in possible trouble for hiding overspending by that means. That, Derek, is the issue and it really isn't a point-of-view one.

    i guess that's what the courts will determine
  67. HONEST GOV. (behind closed doors) VERY OPEN (cheque book) from Canada writes:

    Adam :

    Tell us about barn burning ? Tell us about being led away from your desk in manicles under the threat of a tasering ?

    Don't tell us about politicians defying the laws of Canada ? Don't tell us about refusing to open your books when asked by a legal election watchdog ? Don't tell us about filerbusting committees wasting taxpayer's dime ? Don't tell us about who would have to pay $ 1 million in questionable election rebates ? Don't tell us who pays legal fees harper is hiding behind ?
  68. HONEST GOV. (behind closed doors) VERY OPEN (cheque book) from Canada writes: The Skipper from Canada writes: People losing their jobs!
    People losing their homes!
    Gasoline and Food prices escalating every day !
    And we should care about advertising expenses !
    Posted 15/04/08 at 10:01 PM EDT |

    Do you vote ? Are you a card carrying reform alliance shrill ? I am sure harper will contribute this $ 1 million scammed from taxpayers to food banks in Afghanistan as he does not believe in helping welfare bums in Canada .
  69. HONEST GOV. (behind closed doors) VERY OPEN (cheque book) from Canada writes: Derek Holtom from Swan River, Canada writes: diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: Derek Holtom:-- It may be a practice by all parties, but only one party seems to have gotten itself in possible trouble for hiding overspending by that means. That, Derek, is the issue and it really isn't a point-of-view one.

    i guess that's what the courts will determine
    Posted 16/04/08 at 9:04 AM EDT |

    I can't be arrested as a low life criminal money laundering thief until all other low life criminal money laundering thieves are caught and convicted by a Chicago court . God Bless America !
  70. HONEST GOV. (behind closed doors) VERY OPEN (cheque book) from Canada writes:

    If documents the court gets out of harpers grip from Corrections Canada and Foreign Affairs turn out to be inciminating what then ?

    Do officials who commit treason still get a cigarette and blind fold or is that too whimpy for reform alliance ?
  71. Ian Perry from Halifax, Canada writes: Correct me if I'm wrong:

    - We're talking about a rebate that hasn't been paid.
    - A national party may allocate funds to an individual constituency.
    - An individual constituency can give money to a national campaign.
    - There is a dispute as to whether certain ads were local or national.
    - Based on EC's interpretation it is alleged a limit has been exceeded.
    - A court has been asked to decide the issue.
    - There is no RCMP investigation.
  72. D. B. from Greater Sask., Canada writes: I am sure that Elections Canada and the CPC both know why a warrant was necessary. The facts may get out to the public some day. They should; they concern us.
  73. HONEST GOV. (behind closed doors) VERY OPEN (cheque book) from Canada writes:

    Correct me if I am wrong .

    The military watchdog is going to spend $ 2 million dollars to summon witnesses and supenia documents from Corrections Canada and Foreign Affairs ? The Election Watch dog is a cheap skate and gets a judge to issue a search warrent to get documents that harper won't release ?

    Could we get election watchdog to replace fired military watchdog ? I love fiscal conservatism !
  74. Derek Holtom from Swan River, Canada writes: This is about the most sane and rational thing I've read on this site. Not overly partisan, just stating what he thinks to be facts.

    Ian Perry from Halifax, Canada writes: Correct me if I'm wrong:

    - We're talking about a rebate that hasn't been paid.
    - A national party may allocate funds to an individual constituency.
    - An individual constituency can give money to a national campaign.
    - There is a dispute as to whether certain ads were local or national.
    - Based on EC's interpretation it is alleged a limit has been exceeded.
    - A court has been asked to decide the issue.
    - There is no RCMP investigation.
  75. HONEST GOV. (behind closed doors) VERY OPEN (cheque book) from Canada writes:

    Going to court to stop some officials from doing their jobs ( Election Commissioner & Military Watchdog ) is merely democracy in action .

    If there were real crimes they surely would plead the fifth ?
  76. J. Mac. from Flin Flon, Canada writes: NOW THIS IS A SCANDAL. DION FULL OF INTEGRITY! I WOULD SAY FULL OF SOMETHING ELSE
    -----------------------------------
    Liberal Leader Stephane Dion is facing questions about whether he supports welcoming back in to the party one of the key figures from the sponsorship scandal. Dion told Quebec newspaper Le Soleil in remarks published Wednesday that he has no objections to Marc-Yvan Cote being allowed to resume his Liberal membership.
    ---------
    Cote, a former party organizer in Quebec, was one of 10 members banned for life from the party.

    During the Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal, Cote testified that he received $120,000 in $100 bills from the executive director of the party's Quebec wing. He distributed that money to 12 Liberal candidates in the 1997 federal election.

    "I think that Mr. Dion is right,'" she told reporters on her way into the second day of a Liberal caucus meeting. "There are people we would like to see back in the party." THEY WANT THE CROOKS BACK!
    ----------------------
    THEY WANT THE FREAKEN CROOKS BACK IN THE LIBERAL PARTY!
    WHO ARE THOSE 12 LIBERALS WHO RECEIVED THE BROWN BAGS!
    WE WANT ANSWERS FROM YOU LIBERAL SHEEP POSTING HERE!
  77. Four separate counties within Canada *******Dare to Dream from Regina, Canada writes: I hope they get to the bottom of who leaked the raid to the camera toting Liberals and the press, what a banana republic.

    Liberals get away with literally stealing money and the Conservatives are walking the plank for trying to stretch their advertising budget, huge difference.
  78. Political Junkie from Canada writes: Anything that may be incriminating will have been removed long ago. Was this a political stunt?? Who tipped off the media and the Liberal Party??
    We need another 40 million dollar inquiry!!
  79. J. Mac. from Flin Flon, Canada writes: REASONS WHY DION SHOULD CALL AN ELECTION
    --------------------------
    1. New Liberal Scandals
    Dion should hold an election now before any new Liberal scandals make headlines. Imagine the fallout, for instance, if we find out Roger Clemens has been injecting Dion with Human Growth Hormones to help him look more "leader like.”"

    2. Afghanistan Follies
    The longer the Liberals remain in opposition, the greater the risk Dion will take another stab at formulating a Liberal policy on Afghanistan. The last time he did that, of course, he managed to anger both the right and left-wings of his party, while giving the Taliban a massive case of the giggles.

    3. Money Talks
    Liberal fundraising efforts, of late, have been about as successful as Britney Spears therapy sessions. But waving the white flag on the budget will only make things worse. Nobody likes giving money to a loser. (Okay nobody other than Toronto Maple Leaf season ticket holders.)
  80. Johnny Canuck from Canada writes: People are inferring that election canada is non partial? Yeah sure. The proof they are not is in the warrent issued yesterday imho. They would never have done that to a Liberal government. This behavior is political. The amount of money here is very small and every party has a scheme similair to this one.
  81. J. Mac. from Flin Flon, Canada writes: AND 3 MORE REASONS DION SHOULD CALL AN ELECTION
    -------
    4. Suzuki Threat
    If the Conservatives remain in power much longer, it’s likely a frustrated David Suzuki will be forced stage a coup d'etat, so he can establish the world&8217;s first "Green Republic." The best Dion could hope for under a Suzuki regime is being named Canada&8217;s ambassador to Al Gore.

    5. Liberal Knives
    Failing to force an election will only encourage Liberal rivals to undermine Dion"s leadership. In fact, Liberal loyalty to Dion is slipping so much even his dog now reportedly supports Bob Rae.

    6. Obama Factor
    The more Canadians see Barack Obama wow American voters with his charisma and message of hope, the more they will be reminded that Dion has about as much charisma as a damp wash cloth.
  82. Catherine L from Canada writes: Derek Holton, the court case is only one ingredient. Note that the court case consists of TWO conservatives. Originally, it involved over 30 conservatives, but some spoke out against the scheme and didn't want to be listed, others were unaware they were named in a lawsuit suing Elections Canada and objected, and in the end, it came down to two named conservatives, whereas last I heard there were closer to a hundred involved in this scheme. A couple other conservative candidates have already accepted the EC ruling and withdrew their claims for the disputed expenses. There must be tremendous pressure not to have other conservative candidates follow this example, as doing so, would force the CPC to accept those expenses which would then put them in violation of our spending laws.

    The EC investigation is much broader and not localized to these two candidates and so should reveal much more.
  83. J. Mac. from Flin Flon, Canada writes: AND 4 MORE REASON DION SHOULD CALL AN ELECTION NOW
    --------------
    7. Language Skills
    The longer we wait for an election, the greater the chance Dion's English language skills will improve. And the more English-Speaking Canadians understand what Dion is proposing the less likely they will be to elect him.

    8. The CBC Factor
    It"s important for Dion to call an election soon, because sooner or later the CBC will get tired of writing his speeches.

    9. The Economy
    Some say Dion should wait for an economic slowdown before calling an election. But electing Dion as prime minister is the best way to cause an economic slow down.

    10. Canadians Deserve It
    All Canadians deserve to see Dion on the campaign trail as soon as possible. Why? Because after enduring such a rough winter, we could all use the laugh.
    ---------
  84. D. B. from Greater Sask., Canada writes: We (the people) surrender. Unconditionally.
  85. HONEST GOV. (behind closed doors) VERY OPEN (cheque book) from Canada writes:

    Not only are the liberals broke , thieving scum but they can't get to the Queens printer in Ottawa . harper has flooded the Printer Company such that they are 25 - 50 million taxpayer paid householder ads .

    If harper wants to fix the softwood lumber file he screwed up , could he not use western pinters also ?

    Can the Election Commissioner look at party ad spending outside Writ times ?
  86. HONEST GOV. (behind closed doors) VERY OPEN (cheque book) from Canada writes: mr. harper : Toronto has printing companies . We farm the jobs out to India . 25-50 million piece backlog done overnight . ( India imports whole logs from us ) Super cheap quality work .
  87. Derek Holtom from Swan River, Canada writes: Catherine L

    And since I'm assuming none of on here are lawyers involved with this case, none of has any idea how this will turn out. I can guess from many posts what people HOPE will happen, or what they THINK will happen, because they always jump to the conclusion.
    I myself do not care one way or the other, but I will watch with great interest.
    But I hardly think it's as cut and dried as some of the partisans on here make it out to be. But then, that's pretty much what I expect from the regular posters on here.
  88. J. Mac. from Flin Flon, Canada writes: Though Dion was not the first choice of the bosses of the political party the economic "powers that be" still run the show, and now he is their man --a man on whom they can rely.
    -------
    Dion sat at the Cabinet table when Liberals betrayed their promise to create 150,000 new child care spaces. After 12 years and three majority governments, and 8 years of back-to-back surpluses equalling over $63 billion, the kids of working women and men are still waiting.
    -------
    In their first four years in office, the Liberals cut over $25 billion from health care and education, scrapped the Canada Assistance Plan, scrapped the federal role in building affordable housing, and reduced eligibility for women to get Employment Insurance.
    ----------
    Today Dion ranks "social equality" as one of his top three policy planks. But what was he doing about those savage anti-social cuts during his ten years in office?
  89. HONEST GOV. (behind closed doors) VERY OPEN (cheque book) from Canada writes: Derek Holtom from Swan River, Canada writes: Posted 16/04/08 at 11:56 AM EDT

    Were you been ? In the closet ? Taxpayers pay lawyers to make it official . Please name one government official on staff or elected that has ever served time . Conrad Black does not count as he no longer is a CITIZEN OF A BANNANA REPUBLIC .
  90. J. Mac. from Flin Flon, Canada writes: Last month, the CBC admitted that one of its reporters had colluded with Liberal members of the Ethics Committee in the hope of advancing a story critical of the Conservative Government.

    Writing on his blog last week, CBC Publisher John Cruickshank shed some light on the CBC internal investigation into this messy episode.

    "In this case, our reporter provided questions to two Liberal MPs using her BlackBerry in the hope that these would be put to the former prime minister during the committee hearings."

    Mr. Cruickshank"s admission raises ethical questions about the Stephane Dion Liberals, who are still trying to hide their involvement in this incident.

    A Liberal Party spokesperson, Mark Dunn, would even go so far as to call the charge a "total fabrication".

    With the CBC’s admission, Mr. Dunn"s credibility is now clearly called into question.
    Two Liberal MPs were involved in a serious case of collusion. Yet neither have been so much as named, let alone held accountable for their actions.
  91. Geoffrey May from Canada writes: Derek Holtom and Ian Perry
    Your logic is flawed
    1-its legal to own a gun
    2- its legal to be given money
    so how is armed robbery illegal ?
    Breaking issues into little tiny pieces does not shed light, it obscures the reality.
  92. Catherine Wilkie from Canada writes: Media is not the focus, here. The focus is on the Harper gov't. They campaigned on offering Canadians an open, transparent, accountable, 'clean' gov't. While they were campaigning, they were involved in 'laundering' money in and out of the local constituences back to the national office. In key ridings. Out-spending the money allocated under Elections Canada rules. Rules all other parties followed. While some constituencies refused the request as 'they didn't trust' the scheme.
  93. Wall Flower from Canada writes: How about that? The Harper "clean and open" govt can now lay claim to the title of being the only national party to ever have its headquarters raided by the police.

    Every time we turn around, we find those Tories under suspicion of criminal activities for one thing or another.

    If this isn't poetic justice, I don't know what is.
  94. William Ross from Victoria BC, Canada writes: This whole story is rapidly becoming a Non-Story as it fails to meet the basic requirement that upsets canadian voters re: Tax Money - not one cent of any of tax payers money is invloved in otherwords this whole thing is about the partys money and whethere local vs national ads can be deducted as an expense! Good grief this is an advertising accounting story for someone elses money so who cares it has nothing to do with my taxes and that is all the average canadian is concerned about.
  95. Vern McPherson from writes:
    There will be criminal charges over this. Plus there will be Elections Canada violations and conspiracy charges over this.

    It finishes the COns. They lie anyway and have done nothing substantive for Canada other than smear, lie and carry on a perpetual smear-filled election campaign.

    COns = liars
  96. Catherine Wilkie from Canada writes: