Alleged wrongdoing by now ex-Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown may have “benefited” the party and warrants investigation, one Liberal MP is urging the federal elections watchdog.
In a letter to the interim Commissioner of Canada Elections on Thursday, Liberal MP Adam van Koeverden requested the office probe whether the federal party may have reaped any benefits from alleged financial crimes by the Brown campaign when the party disqualified him on Tuesday.
“There are serious questions, given the nature of the Conservative Party leadership rules and the party’s membership fees, as to whether the party itself may have benefitted from the alleged illegal actions of the leadership contestant,” van Koeverden wrote in the letter, dated July 7.
He suggested such an alleged “benefit” could be in the form of a “monetary windfall” for the party from membership fees sold by the Brown campaign or leadership dues paid to the party, as well as any “donations in kind” in the form of labour or services that “furthered the political interests of the Conservative Party.”
“Given these potential illegal benefits accruing to the Conservative Party, any investigation must not be limited to an individual leadership contestant but must follow the money if there was potential benefit to the Party as a whole,” he wrote.
A spokesperson for the office confirmed receipt of the letter to Global News.
The office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections is separate from Elections Canada.
Elections Canada is the agency that organizes and runs Canada’s federal elections, while the Commissioner of Canada Elections is the official whose job it is to specifically ensure compliance with the Canada Elections Act, which is the legislation governing conduct and finances during elections.
Brown was disqualified from the Conservative leadership race on the evening of July 5.
In a statement announcing the disqualification, Ian Brodie, chair of the party’s Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC), said the party became aware over recent weeks of what he called “serious allegations” that the Brown campaign violated “the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act.”
Brodie said the Brown campaign had not satisfied the committee with its response when asked about the allegations, and that the party would be sharing the information with election authorities.
A spokesperson for the office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections confirmed earlier Thursday it had received information related to the allegations, and was reviewing it to determine if they warrant an investigation.
Brown calls the matter a “phantom allegation.”
His campaign has said it was not given enough information about the allegation to properly respond, and Brown has hired criminal defence lawyer Marie Henein of Henein Hutchison LLP as he attempts to challenge the disqualification.
However, Conservative leadership candidates agreed to abide by rules set by the party when they signed up to run, including section 3.1.110 of the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada Leadership Election rules which states: “all decisions of the LEOC are final and are not subject to internal appeal or judicial review.”
– with files from Global News’ Marc-Andre Cossette and Abigail Bimman.
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