Beer and popcorn, redux
Let's recap.
People who want to see Joe Volpe as the next Liberal Party leader use children to write cheques in the amount of thousands of dollars and so evade donation limits:
Two 11-year-olds donated $10,800 to Joe Volpe's Liberal leadership campaign, and their 14-year-old brother gave another $5,400.
The sums were from children of former Apotex Inc. vice-president Allen Shechtman and were among the 20 donations totalling $108,000 to Mr. Volpe's campaign from five current and former executives of the firm and 15 of their family members.
Liberals in Joe Volpe's camp think there is nothing wrong with this:
Earlier, however, Mr. Volpe's national campaign co-ordinator, Scarborough MP Jim Karygiannis, insisted that nothing was wrong with the donations from 11-year-olds, and noted that it is legal for children of any age to donate to an election campaign.Mr. Volpe's spokesman, Corey Hobbs, said Monday that all the donations are in full compliance with the law, and that none will be returned.
Indeed, Volpe is ready to sue anyone who criticizes him:
Yesterday, Mr. Volpe's lawyer, Steven Polak, sent a letter to [New Democratic Party MP Pat Martin] demanding that he retract “false, malicious, and slanderous statements about Mr. Volpe and contributions to his leadership campaign.”
The Liberal Party itself thinks using children as money-laundering mules is just good campaigning:
The national Liberal Party said yesterday it has no reason to investigate donations to leadership candidate Joe Volpe from current and former executives of a generic drug firm and their relatives.
While other parties criticized the donations, national director Steven MacKinnon said the Liberal Party has not made any inquiries with the donors.
"Elections Canada regulates contributions to leadership candidates. The Liberal Party does not," Mr. MacKinnon said.
He said donors to political parties must be Canadian citizens -- in fact landed immigrants can also donate -- and must contribute their own money. "Until we have a reason to believe that neither of those is the case, no action is warranted."
This isn't just about Joe Volpe. It is about the Liberal Party as a whole. There are many who are critical of Volpe, but many more who are not (or at least not until the bad press started), including those in key executive positions.
This is the Liberal Party attitude towards children.
When Communications Director Scott Reid criticized the Conservative plan to give money to parents of children, he worried that Canadian parents would be irresponsible and spend the money on "beer and popcorn".
I guess he was right after all. He just didn't go far enough. I mean, Liberal parents are likely to spend money in the childrens' names on beer, popcorn, and sleazy leadership campaigns.
Too bad there is no way to keep the childcare cheques from going to irresponsible Liberal parents.
Oh well.
The good news is that we have avoided having the Liberal Party implement a nationalized daycare plan. Imagine being compelled to trust these people and their lackeys and supporters with our children.
"OK, children. Today for arts and crafts, we're going to make Liberal campaign buttons! See, volunteer labour does not count againt donation limits. Who can say 'donation'? Very good!"
It's a chilling thought.
More Volpe creepiness: Not just a guy who takes candy (and campaign cheques) from a child, but an enemy of free speech too.
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Comments
Well, Volpe learned from a pro.
Posted by: Linda at June 1, 2006 11:24 AM
the old party ideas live on . . . wonder if Joe bought any pizzas for the kids .. might explain some of his previous spending.
Posted by: Fred at June 1, 2006 01:37 PM
Now, the Libs could save face by honouring the "spirit" of the elections Act:
435.17 A registered party that withdraws its acceptance of a leadership contestant shall file with the Chief Electoral Officer a statement in writing to that effect signed by the chief agent of the party and indicating the date of the withdrawal. The Chief Electoral Officer shall enter the withdrawal of acceptance in the registry of leadership contestants.
2003, c. 19, s. 40.
Posted by: Barley at June 1, 2006 01:54 PM
There should be a criminal investigation into this, it sure smells like the law was broken. A quick look at the bank records of the children would reveal if they were acting on their own.
"The law also includes several clauses making it a crime for any individual to "act in collusion" with others to skirt the ban on corporate donations.
It's illegal to conceal the identity of donors, to compensate a person for making a donation, or to make a donation that actually comes from another person."
Posted by: Stan at June 1, 2006 02:25 PM
Good point Stan. Perhaps we should be contacting Elections Canada to ask for them to conduct an investigation and see exactly what funds these children had in order to personally donate the maximum allowable campaign donation amount. That would be the quickest and most intelligent (thus probably the last thing to be done) thing that Elections Canada could do.
Posted by: Surecure at June 1, 2006 02:44 PM
These Libranos have no shame. Truth and lies are the same to them. Maybe we should start calling them people of the lie.
The only problem is, they've so brainwashed Canadians into not understanding, themselves, what is fiction and what is fact, what is legal and what is illegal (in their minds, there's no difference), what is truth and what is a falsehood, that it's going to take a long time of honest government--which I believe Stephen Harper and his team are doing their best to provide--to turn perception around.
Listening to The World at Six tonight on the CBC, Joe Volpe is apparently going to give back the kids' money. He claims that he found out ONLY yesterday that children had contributed to his campaign.
Yeah, right, Mr. Volpe. The MSM and everyone else in Canada knew about on Monday, or Tuesday at the latest, and you found out just yesterday?
Hey, that long nose of yours just grew another few inches. Joe Volpenocchio.
Posted by: new kid on the block at June 1, 2006 06:06 PM
There is only one way out for the Liberals. They need to lodge a complaint about themselves with the Ethics Commissioner and then Shapiro can clear them. Again.
Posted by: Dave at June 1, 2006 06:15 PM
If a Conservative pulled off something like that, the RCMP would have kicked his door in by now and he'd be in jail awaiting trial for Elections infractions, at very least he would have been legally prevented from running.
More Liebral crap and it looks like getting caught isn't enough for stuff to stick to them.
Pat
Posted by: Pat at June 1, 2006 06:36 PM
I think these children should be commended! Imagine, being so politically aware at such a young age! Don't you realise how many driveways they had to shovel to raise that kind of money!
Posted by: flurd at June 1, 2006 07:43 PM
Angry, don't forget that we already should fear for our children. The Teacher's Union isn't much better than the Liberals.
Posted by: TrustOnlyMulder at June 2, 2006 12:10 AM
There must be some sort of child abuse going on here, children in a normal loving home do not give the Liberals $5,400 dollars.
Perhaps Apotex has developed a new pediatric medication with a political donation as a side effect>
I will have to see if my own medication is avaailable in a non-apotex generic.
Posted by: Dan Bergen at June 2, 2006 10:05 AM
CRUSHING OF DECENT!!
Volpe has spoof website taken down!
http://tinyurl.com/fshd5
Posted by: dude at June 2, 2006 11:37 AM
"Where is the Blogger outrage?"
Joe Volpe is a Liberal MP, now in the Opposition benches since the Conservatives took January's election, and has put his name forward for the Liberal Party leadership. It was discovered last week, however, that Volpe had accepted cash donations from the 11-year old twin children of a vice-president of a drug company, a friend of Mr. Volpe's. You're probably all aware of this; it's last week's news.
The issue du jour is this: a web-site was launched, spoofing Volpe's bid for the Liberal Party leadership against a backdrop of taking money from kids. Mr. Volpe had the website taken down:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060602.LIBERALSWEB02/TPStory/TPNational/Politics/.
As commentors at smalldeadanimals (http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/004070.html#comments) have pointed out:
"There is such a thing as freedom of speech, something else that Volpe seems to have forgotten. Are we moving into the Muslim cartoons mode of mind, where we will censor any speech that criticizes us, whether by analysis or comic tactics?"
"That Joe Volpe was able to have the spoof site taken down simply by telling the domain name registry to do it speaks volumes about the state of this country. Where is the Blogger outrage about what Volpe was allowed to do? Where is the protest? Why are not bloggers re-posting the spoof site?
The Volpe spoof has been saved at:
http://policycanada.blogspot.com
Posted by: GrammarGeek at June 2, 2006 11:41 AM
"The sums were from children of former Apotex Inc. vice-president Allen Shechtman and were among the 20 donations totalling $108,000 to Mr. Volpe's campaign from five current and former executives of the firm and 15 of their family members."
Where did the children "earn" such money?
Have they paid taxes on it? If not, the proper tax authorities in Canada (in the US we call it the IRS, not sure of the agency in Canada) should investigate these children and charge them accordingly for failure to report income.
Posted by: dpt at June 2, 2006 12:59 PM
 
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