Asked about the story on the way in to his party’s weekly caucus meeting Wednesday morning, Del Mastro told reporters, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Del Mastro and the official agent on his 2008 campaign are currently under investigation for allegedly spending more than their legal limit. An Elections Canada investigator said in a sworn statement he believes Del Mastro paid for voter contact work with a personal cheque to hide the overspending.
It is not known if Elections Canada is also investigating donations made to the same campaign by people affiliated with a Mississauga electrical contracting company owned by his cousin, David Del Mastro.
The Citizen and Postmedia reported last Friday allegations that employees of Deltro Electric Ltd and their friends made $1,000 donations to Del Mastro’s campaign and were paid back $1,050 by the company. One former employee signed a statutory declaration naming those alleged to have participated in the scheme.
Deltro owner David Del Mastro emphatically denied the allegations. Four people who each gave $1,000 to the campaign also denied they’d been reimbursed when contacted.
In his brief remarks on Wednesday — his first public comments since the donation story — Dean Del Mastro said,: “I see lots of silly stories out there every day. What’s that have to do with me?”
He did not speak to journalists after the caucus meeting.
Del Mastro has served as the Conservative government’s pointman on the robocalls scandal, deflecting allegations about misleading automated and live calls made in the 2011 election
When news of the investigation into his own campaign in 2008 broke earlier this month, he promised he would produce documents to show his campaign finances were in order. He has yet to do so, and he no longer responds to opposition questions about the matter in the House of Commons.
Liberal MP Scott Andrews is bringing a motion before the House of Commons ethics committee on Thursday, calling on Del Mastro and his official agent Richard McCarthy to testify.
The NDP has indicated it won’t support the motion because the party believes the committee shouldn’t be used a “kangaroo court” to try allegations under investigation by Elections Canada.
Even with the NDP’s support, Andrews’s motion would almost certainly be defeated by the Conservative majority on the committee.
Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: GLEN MCGREGOR AND STEPHEN MAHER
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