Canada’s Elections Commissioner’s office says it has received and is reviewing information related to allegations raised by the Conservative Party of Canada that now-disqualified leadership candidate Patrick Brown’s campaign violated federal election finance rules.
“Our office reviews every complaint it receives, regardless of its origin, to determine whether or not the allegations fall within the scope of its mandate,” the commissioner’s spokeswoman, Jacinthe Dumont, said in an email to CTV News.
On Tuesday night, the Conservative Party of Canada Leadership Organizing Committee (ESWL) announced he had decided, after a split vote, to disqualify Brown from the race because he had been made aware of “serious allegations of wrongdoing by the Patrick Brown campaign that appear to violate the financial provisions of the Canadian Elections Act”.
The party said that while it regrets having to remove Brown from the race, his campaign’s response to the allegations did not adequately address its concerns. In making the explosive announcement, LEOC President Ian Brodie indicated that the information they had acquired in recent weeks while investigating the claims would be passed on to Elections Canada.
On Wednesday, in a series of media interviews, including with CTV News, Brown denied any wrongdoing. Brown said the party had not provided him with enough information about the “phantom” allegations, but said his campaign was told one complaint had to do with someone being paid by a corporation to work on Brown’s election, the current Mayor of Brampton. the federal leadership position.
Brown also questioned the integrity of the contest, suggesting that supporters of one of his opponents, Pierre Poilievre, were the ones who pushed for his ouster. However, later on Wednesday, Conservative Party Chairman Rob Batherson said the allegations did not come from anyone affiliated with any other campaign.
“The accusations actually came from Mr. Brown’s camp,” he said.
Batherson also confirmed that the party has been in communication with federal election officials about the allegations.
“They have confirmed a process whereby we can provide all the information, including the source of the information, and it will now be up to Elections Canada to determine how they go about interviewing the sources of the allegations,” Batherson said. .
“I understand that one or two investigators have been assigned to the file. I don’t know the status of all the information that is being transferred, but we are fully cooperating with Elections Canada to make sure they have all the information.” they need on these serious allegations to investigate.
As the specific independent officer responsible for ensuring compliance and enforcement of Canada’s Elections Act, it will now be Acting Commissioner Marc Chenier who will begin reviewing the allegations. Caroline Simard was recently appointed as the new commissioner, replacing Yves Cote after a decade in office.
Citing confidentiality, the commissioner’s office said it could not provide any details about the content of the information it received.
“The Canadian Elections Commissioner takes all complaints seriously and, where appropriate, conducts a thorough investigation. The length of an investigation can vary widely depending on the nature and complexity of the file,” Dumont said.
“It is only at the end of a review or investigation, and only in cases where formal enforcement or enforcement action is taken, that limited information is made publicly available.
Meanwhile, Brown tries to appeal the party’s decision to disqualify him. Although the party has indicated that its rules do not provide for an appeal, Brown’s attorney, Henein Hutchison LLP has written to the Conservative Party giving notice of the intention to challenge the “Kafkaesque process” and request a “stay of litigation” in all relevant documents.