The possibility that the Tories circumvented the rules of the Commons when it comes to sending out political flyers free of charge, and that this could cost the party tens of thousands of dollars – or possibly more – left MPs scrambling to distance themselves from the NDP, which is on the hook for $1.17 million for partisan mailings.
The secretive Commons Board of Internal Economy that ordered the NDP repayment met behind closed doors Tuesday to review allegations of misuse raised by the NDP and contained in a report from the House administration, a copy of which was obtained by the Citizen.
In the report, House officials couldn’t conclusively say whether 13 MPs, including former cabinet minister Vic Toews and former Liberal Bob Rae, improperly sent political flyers to homes outside their own constituency. But in a second case, Commons officials found that flyers from 10 Conservatives – including Conservative Whip John Duncan, who speaks for the board – directed people to websites that “do not comply with the Board’s Web site policies.”
The flyers contained QR codes, which are printed stamps that, when scanned by a mobile device, redirect to a website. In the case of the flyers in question, the QR codes sent readers to two websites registered to the Conservative Resource Group, which is the Commons-funded research bureau for the Conservative caucus, rather than an MP’s personal website as the rules require.
“We use parliamentary resources to create a document by parliamentary staff that was vetted by the House of Commons that directed to a parliamentary address. So I think it’s very different than what the NDP did,” said Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, one of the 10 MPs on the list.
“It’s an attempt, quite frankly, of the NDP to distract from the real issue, which is what they did was completely different. They went offsite. They used offsite staff. They did things to get around the (board), to get around the House of Commons, and we did not.”
House of Commons rules aren’t specific on the use of QR codes.
“Although the policy is silent on the use of QR codes, the spirit and intent of the Board’s policies limiting references to designated Web sites only would apply regardless of the means (QR code or Web address),” the report says. “The Board may wish to clarify that the use of QR codes is permitted under the same conditions as the current Web site policy.”
In all, the mailings from the 10 Conservative MPs cost the Commons less than $25,000.
However, they could be on the hook for more. If the board uses the same formula it used to calculate how much the NDP owed for its mailings, the 10 Conservative MPs would have to repay Canada Post almost $509,000.
Original Article
Source: canada.com/
Author: JORDAN PRESS
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