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Monday, November 19, 2007
Jean Landry, the In-and-Out Scandal, and Payback Time
The In-and-Out Scandal that was the focus of Liberal Party hysterics prior to the Karlheinz Schreiber nonsense basically had the Liberals claiming that the Conservatives had deliberately committed violations of the Elections Canada Act with regards to spending limits. The Conservatives did this by transfering money from the federal party to the local riding associations. The riding association would use that money to buy an ad from the party (the money goes in and the money goes out), the ad being essentially a national ad with the name of the local MP attached to the end. The ad spend was declared on the candidate's local return to Elections Canada, where a large portion of that cost is rebated.
Elections Canada called foul, saying the ads don't constitute "local" advertising.
I've already detailed how this seems to be a special rule for the Conservatives, since Liberal and NDP ad spends were conducted exactly in this way.
But one element to the story is the role of angry Conservative candidates. Jean Landry in particular is a Conservative candidate who did not win in 2006. Elections Canada later called Landry to inquire about the ad spend. Landry angrily talked about how he did not know what was going on, how the money just went in and out, and so forth. The media has reported that it was his reaction that got Elections Canada interested in all this.
Indeed, the press also reports the Landry has ceased to be a member of the Conservative Party and that he is willing to testify against the Conservatives.
Here's what is not being reported in the press. Despite the implication, Landry did not quit the Conservatives in disgust over questionable ad practises. That makes for a great sideline to the main story, but in fact, Landry fell victim to a party rule that says that a candidate who runs twice and loses twice can't run again (Landry also ran in the 2004 election and lost then too). Frustrated, Landry quits the party (rumour is that he is joining the Green Party, having already run in elections for the Bloc Quebecois, the Progressive Conservatives, and as an independent, in addition to his two election attempts for the Conservative Party). Elections Canada calls and Landry vents loudly and angrily. But in a letter to the Conservatives in which Landry asks for the documentation requested by Elections Canada, he mentions that he entered into the ad campaign "in good faith", suggesting that he knew what was going on and how it was organized, and that he certainly didn't have any misgivings at the time.
How much of the In-and-Out Scandal is really the by-product of a frustrated and angry perennial election candidate dishing out payback after being told that if he wants to continue with his hobby of running in elections, he would have to do it with a different party?
And shouldn't we know a bit about the potential motivations of the accusers?
You can read the letter (in French) and my translation of it, as well as some of the history of Jean Landry, at Angry in the Great White North. Hey, maybe you'll be able to read it in the main stream media too...eventually.
Posted by Steve Janke on November 19, 2007 | Permalink
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Comments
"Hey, maybe you'll be able to read it in the main stream media too...eventually."
. . . only if it puts PM Harper in a bad light.
Posted by: obc | 2007-11-19 7:50:20 AM
Sun Media will go with this story shortly I would think -today Sun Media are laughing about how Bell
Media Globe and Mail plus CTV got sucked in ny that expert professional con man and Lobbyist ole Karl Heinz who would have caused Globe Editors to shit in their pants when he stated he would not talk, they must be having a fit in Toronto and Ottawa today.
EADS who it appears paid ole Karl Heinz to secure
sales of their aircraft when operating as Aerospatiale got sucked in. The fact is that Martin Brian Mulroney could not and did not influence the President of Air Canada and it's Board. It was Martin Brian Mulroney himself who shut down Federal and NS Provincial negotiations with Thyssen AG, because the German Firm intended to sell their armored fighting vehicles to South
Africa then boycotted by half the world.Ole Karl Heinz should seek another line of work, selling franchises for that well know Ottawa organization,
Whores R'Us would be a good start. Macleod
Posted by: Jack MacLeod | 2007-11-19 8:43:56 AM
I liked the recent ads on the lack-lustre performance of Dayawn--they were very good.
Next time though, I hope the Cnnservatives might be so kind as to depict Dayawn like I see him, as a pansy--tip-toeing, through the tulips--with limp wrists, hands softer than butter, with a crush on Britney Spears....
Posted by: Lady | 2007-11-19 8:53:38 AM
I'm hoping that Citoyen Dion Reserve Officer Army of
the Republic of France gets a note from Paris advising that he will report to his Army Unit to
serve with the French Military units assigned to support NATO forces in Afghanistan. I wonder if the Liberal Party and Canada could survive without the
little fellow harping away on a daily basis in his
badly enunciated interpretation of English. Our
Acadian lawyers here tell us that his French is
excellent -Macleod
Posted by: Jack Macleod | 2007-11-19 9:27:10 AM
"Cnnservatives"
Can I kep that one ?
Posted by: Marc | 2007-11-19 10:03:04 AM
Marc,
You can "kep" it all you want.
After all--that is what the language narcs do--hey, marc sounds like narc...you could make poetry with those two words.
______________________________________________
NEXT!
But to the real story today--the dumber than dumber NDP have decided to ensure that a certain percentage of seats to women--what they have done is totally undermined equality.
All the women who might run will be looked upon as though they could not get themselves nominated and elected without affirmative action.
Someone needs to tell them that just because they might be able to address minimum numbers--does not mean they are able to resolve any percieved problem in the first place.
A person is qualified because of all the other factors in their lives--of which gender is not all that important. It is not unimportant--it is just not all that important.
Who would you rather have as leader--a good leader of any gender or race--or a monster of a woman, who lacks morals, values and sells a Province or the whole country down the road to poverty--or a monster of a man who also does exactly just that, who lacks morals and leads us all down a road to poverty.
Next thing you know they will be enforceing a maximum number of seats for men, as a not more than policy,--now that will demonstrate their real colours. Give them a few years, and they will have maximum numbers on everything from race, education, gender, to the number of pieces of TP that a person may use in their lifetime.... Give them a chance and they will ban things left, very left and extreme left--until we all look like cookie cutters, wearing grey clothes, and marching around like starving Northern Koreans.
Now, they have not supported a certain percentage being Aboriginal seats--probably because it would doubly undermine Carol James--who is both First Nations AND female.
The NDP could not have gotten her there without major subsidy by race and gender?
Talking about disabled, the Federal Conservatives have a disabled man--who got elected on his own merit--and he happens to be a quadraplegic. If he could do it then disabled folks and women, and anyone else who is in the minority status according to the NDP, can do it without holding onto some special card. Why don't more? I'll say what most people don't want to say--because they have been facilitated into perpetual poverty and lack lustre thinking. Someone has told them that just because they are like they are--that they can shut-up and take pensions. Well, while they are spilling themselves over constituency issues, they are dumbing down people into thinking that they are perpetual victims--which is wrong!
Why--the new Lt Governor of BC is Aboriginal--and he got to where he is--not by there being a race card--but because of his accomplishments.
ACK! It's all like this dull background noise, that drives Canadian politics into the ground.
People are not qualified to lead our country just because they are a minority--people are qualified to run this country because they have the qualifications in the first place, and the people chose the right person for the job--no matter what their race or gender is.
The people get the kind of person, not only they want--but also who they deserve. And, right now, we deserve PMSH--he's great!
We deserve a man like him--leading our country--we wanted a person like him to lead our country--and we got a better man than many knew about before.
Besides, even with a little pot-belly he is still the most handsome leader Canada has ever had--by far!
I think his track record since being elected has spoken well, and that he will lead a majority in the next election.
As for BC politics--I think the NDP have sealed their fate. I think that the wave of constituency politics is passe, and the world has moved on--people are not interested in that--so what is going to happen is that the final outcome will make them look as what the roc has always known.
I predict they will do as badly as before, and if they make any forward moves in seats, it will not be as a result of any gender or disability decisions, or on the basis of a person's sexual orientation. BC already had a Svend--and from what people say--sounds as though they are more than happy that the terrorist sympathizer has moved on down the road....
Posted by: Lady | 2007-11-19 12:19:42 PM
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