Did the Conservatives Cheat or Are They Guilty of Criminal Activity?

The "In and Out" scandal is hitting the news again and new revelations show that the Conservatives passed off even more national spending to the riding level.

And again they are suing us, instead of finally answering to the Canadian people.

Pierre Poilievre is suggesting that past lawsuits vindicated them, but that is not true.

Pierre Poilievre, parliamentary secretary to Harper, was dismissive. "We disagree with Elections Canada on this matter," he said. He went on to note that "Elections Canada has been wrong in its classification of expenses" in the past.

"In fact, two courts have already ruled against Elections Canada in favour of the Conservative party." Poilievre was referring to a Conservative victory in a civil lawsuit launched by two Tory candidates in the in-and-out advertising case. However, the party is not entirely in the clear on that front yet.

Elections Canada and the party, for different reasons, have both appealed the court ruling. And the commissioner of elections is still conducting a separate criminal investigation into the in-and-out affair and has referred the matter to the director of public prosecutions, who is still considering whether to lay charges.

Many who got involved in the alleged swindle are sitting MPs, and several like Stockwell Day, Christian Paradis and Lawrence Cannon, are in cabinet.

Candidates who allegedly received disputed funds
The Canadian Press
Apr 21, 2008

QUEBEC
Suzanne Courville: Argenteuil-Papineau-Mirabel
Marie-Eve Helie-Lambert: Bas-Richelieu-Nicolet-Becancour
Maxime Bernier: Beauce
Sylvie Boucher: Beauport-Limoilou
Daniel Petit: Charlesbourg-Haute-Saint-Charles
Gary Caldwell: Compton-Stanstead
Jean-Marie Pineault: Drummond
Patrick Robert: Gatineau
Gilles Poirier: Hull-Aylmer
Andrea Paine: Lac-Saint-Louis
Jean-Serge Beauregard: Laurentides-Labelle
Steven Blaney: Levis-Bellechasse
Jacques Gourde: Lotbiniere-Chutes-de-la-Chaudiere
Luc Harvey: Louis-Hebert
Josee Verner: Louis-Saint-Laurent
Christian Paradis: Megantic-L'Erable
Yves Laberge: Montmorency-Charlevoix-Haute Cote Nord
Neil Martin Drabkin: Mount Royal
Allen Mackenzie: Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Lachine
Don Rae: Pierrefonds-Dollard
Lawrence Cannon: Pontiac
Howard Brule: Portneuf-Jacques Cartier
Frederik Boisvert: Quebec
Jean Landry: Richmond-Arthabaska
Ishrat Alam: Saint-Laurent-Cartierville
Jean Lambert: Shefford
Marc Nadeau: Sherbrooke

ONTARIO
Ian West: Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing
Theresa Rodrigues: Davenport
Steven Cage: Kitchener Centre
Dan Mailer: London-Fanshawe
Jurij Klufas: Parkdale-High Park
Pat Davidson: Sarnia-Lambton
Roxanne James: Scarborough Centre
David Leskowski: Thunder Bay-Rainy River
Ken Graham: Timmins-James Bay
Kren Clausen: Toronto-Danforth
Sam Goldstein: Trinity-Spadina
Richard Majkot: Vaughn
Al Teshuba: Windsor West
Steve Halicki: York South-Weston

BRITISH COLUMBIA
George Drazenovic: Burnaby-Douglas
Marc Dalton: Burnaby-New Westminster
Dick Harris: Cariboo-Prince George
Troy DeSouza: Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca
Ron Cannan: Kelowna-Lake Country
Jim Abbott: Kootenay-Columbia
Norm Sowden: Nanaimo-Cowichan
Colin Mayes: Okanagan-Shuswap
Stockwell Day: Okanagan-Coquihalla
Jay Hill: Prince George-Peace River
Elizabeth Pagtakhan: Vancouver East
Kanman Wong: Vancouver Kingsway

NEWFOUNDLAND
Aaron Hynes: Bonavista-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor
Cyril Pelley: Humber-Ste-Barbe-Baie Verte
Joe Goudie: Labrador
Cynthia Downey: Random-Burin-St. George's

NOVA SCOTIA
Robert Campbell: Dartmouth-Cole Harbour
Andrew House: Halifax
Rakesh Khosla: Halifax West
MANITOBA
Helen Sterzer: Winnipeg Centre
Gareth McDonald: Winnipeg North

NEW BRUNSWICK
Omer Leger: Beausejour
Charles Doucet: Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe

SASKATCHEWAN
David Anderson: Cypress Hills-Grasslands
Jeremy Harrison: Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
George Noble: Malpeque