There is still almost two months before the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative leadership convention, and as the date draws near, there’s some tension in regards to the campaigns and the rules surrounding them.
An official complaint has been launched by PC leadership candidate John Lohr’s campaign against fellow opponent Tim Houston, alleging that an Argyle Street party held last Friday as part of the Conservative Party Convention broke the rules.
In documents obtained by Global News, the official complaint says Houston’s campaign was in violation of Section 88 (d), which states, “An Official Agent shall not accept contributions from… an association (including a provincial or federal electoral district association.)”
The event in question is the Nova Scotia Celtic Ceilidh which was held Friday night on Argyle Street. The event was funded in part by Tim Houston’s campaign, and in part by the federal Central Nova Conservative Association.
“I believed it was in violation of the rules,” said Lohr.
Lohr’s complaint states, “The event itself could only be reasonably described as a Tim Houston Campaign event.” Lohr highlights Tim Houston signage by the state, a Tim Houston-branded vehicle parked on the otherwise closed street, and the distribution of swag, including Tim Houston buttons.
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In a statement, Cecil Clarke’s campaign backed the complaint and said, “The Houston campaign’s defence completely ignores the rules of the leadership selection process. We agree with the Lohr campaign’s conclusion that the rules have once again been broken in this case.”
Houston’s campaign has submitted an official response defending the event. It claimed, “The Houston campaign did not receive any contributions, of any kind from Central Nova or any other association.”
It stated the Houston campaign paid for more than half the event cost to avoid conflict with rule 88 (d).
The cost of the event was $4,500. Houston’s campaign paid $3,000 for the stage, sound, city permits and drinks. The Central Nova Association paid $1,500 for the band.
Nicole LaFosse, a spokesperson for the campaign, said no rules were broken as there was no donation.
“It didn’t flow through the campaign. This was a shared event. These were two separate things. They paid for their portion, we paid for ours,” she said.
“Yes, Tim was there, and yes, there was some promotion from his campaign, but all expenses were kept totally separate.”
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Both the complaint and the response have been submitted to the Leadership Steering Committee, which will now review the case.
Co-chair Chris D’Entremont said the steering committee does not comment on such matters during or after their review. The findings of the review and any disciplinary action will be shared directly with the candidates.
This is not the first complaint made against Houston’s campaign. Earlier this summer, his campaign was in hot water after supporters of Houston’s leadership campaign used party resources to send emails to PC party members.
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