Eye-popping Tory riding war chests raise eyebrows

OTTAWA - The refusal of Conservative riding associations to explain how they spend millions in taxpayer-subsidized cash raises suspicions they're putting the money to questionable uses, Liberal deputy leader Ralph Goodale says.

Goodale said he can't fathom how Tory riding associations have racked up eye-popping expenses, such as the nearly $70,000 in "travel and hospitality" reported by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's Whitby-Oshawa association last year.

"That's astounding, that's breathtaking," the veteran Liberal MP said in an interview.

Riding Associations Remain Virtual Financial Black Holes

OTTAWA - Riding associations for federal political parties are sitting on nearly $30-million of taxpayer-subsidized cash, with little obligation to account publicly for how the money is spent.

Annual financial reports filed recently with Elections Canada indicate that Conservative electoral district associations are by far the wealthiest, with combined surpluses of $18.3 million in 2012.

Little accountability for millions spent by federal party riding associations

OTTAWA - Riding associations for federal political parties are sitting on nearly $30-million of taxpayer-subsidized cash, with little obligation to account publicly for how the money is spent.

Annual financial reports filed recently with Elections Canada indicate that Conservative electoral district associations are by far the wealthiest, with combined surpluses of $18.3 million in 2012.

As of last week, the richest of all was the Conservative association in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Calgary Southwest riding, which had amassed a war chest of more than $330,000 — the largest of any riding association, Conservative or otherwise, in the country's 308 constituencies.