Blair Wilson resigns from the Liberal Party caucus
Stephane Dion has lost his national revenue critic and a member of his caucus. Blair Wilson, whose financial problems were splashed all over the news on Sunday, along with allegations of campaign irregularities, has resigned.
Does this solve a problem for Stephane Dion? Not at all, unfortunately for Stephane Dion.
The allegations of financial mismanagement and electoral malfeasance being made against Liberal MP Blair Wilson are serious and apparently supported by documentation in addition to eyewitness accounts. Already people are speaking to the issue of whether Blair Wilson is even fit for office.
Facing this building firestorm, Blair Wilson has resigned from the caucus:
Liberal MP Blair Wilson has resigned from the federal Liberal caucus over allegations that he didn't disclose all of his expenses during the last election campaign.
Mr. Wilson, who represents the riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast, stepped down on Sunday from his position as Liberal national revenue critic.
He said in a statement that he's confident the allegations will be found to be baseless.
"I will collaborate fully with Elections Canada, and do whatever I can to help expedite its investigation into the allegations," the B.C. MP said. He could not be reached for further comment.
Stephane Dion made it clear that no one in the Liberal Party leadership put up any resistance to Wilson's move:
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion says he is "pleased" Mr. Wilson has called on Elections Canada to launch a formal review of the matter. Mr. Dion said the allegations against Mr. Wilson are "serious" and "raise questions that Mr. Wilson must address without delay."
Of course, the story is bigger than this:
However, news of Mr. Wilson's alleged improprieties could not have hit at a worse time for Mr. Dion and the Liberals, who have been trying to capitalize on an alleged election expenses scandal involving the governing Conservatives.
The country's electoral watchdog is investigating whether dozens of Tory candidates improperly claimed more than $1-million worth of local advertising expenses in the last election for ads that were actually national in nature. Elections Canada has refused to reimburse candidates for the advertising expenses, a ruling the Conservative party is challenging in court.
The Liberals have hammered away at the issue every day since Parliament resumed earlier this month.
Their attack will doubtless be blunted by news of the allegations of election spending irregularities within their own ranks.
The problem for the Liberals is that the two situations are different, and clearly different to the average voter. The Conservatives transfered money from the national level to the local ridings (legal), and then the local ridings bought advertising from the national level (legal), moving the money back to the national level (legal). The problem? Elections Canada said that the ads that were run (same content as the national ad, but with a frame added at the end naming the local candidate and riding) is not "local enough".
Everything was above board. No one fudged the books. No money was hidden, no cash transacions happened to hide the paper trail. The question is one of interpretation, and whether Elections Canada is supposed to be making editorial judgments when the ad clearly named the local riding. What is the Conservative Party doing about it? Like anyone, they are taking the question to the impartial courts to decide.
But the Blair Wilson case is different. The allegation is that Blair Wilson and his election team routinely paid for election expenses using cash, booking no receipts, and so keeping the reported funds spent below the limits allowed by the law. Money being donated into the campaign was not accounted for either.
People might be confused at exactly what the Conservatives did, or doubtful that it was really illegal. As for the allegations facing Blair Wilson, no one imagines that it could be possibly be explained away as legal. Blair Wilson's only hope is to somehow prove the allegations completely false, and that means blunting eyewitness testimony and supporting documentation. People can quickly understand what Blair Wilson is supposed to have done and what a bind he is in.
That has traction and front-page appeal. People will read and hear about Blair Wilson, while the advertising controversy is relegated to the back pages, and only reported on sporadically.
This is the problem the Liberals don't need, and even worse, in BC the news will dominate for the next while, hurting the Liberal brand in British Columbia. Wilson's riding was just barely won by the Liberals (and allegedly only because of Liberal overspending), so it is likely that the riding will revert back to the Conservatives in any election that is fought in the near future if Wilson cannot break free of these charges.
Is this as bad as it gets? Not for Stephane Dion.
First, there will be questions about just how someone like Blair Wilson could have been allowed to be the nominee with the red flags in his past.
Second, the question has to be asked just who knew about the problems in the Blair Wilson campaign:
[Former] Wilson campaign workers and business associates have come forward claiming the MP committed breaches of the Canada Elections Act in failing to report campaign expenses. Liberal insiders who worked for the candidate in the 2005-2006 election allege Wilson ran a campaign using cash payments and did not report all his spending. They claim many campaign expenses were never reported to Elections Canada after Wilson switched his staff in favour of another team.
After the new team came in? A team from where? From Liberal headquarters? I think a lot of potentially interesting information is hidden behind this detail.
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Comments
Yes, the difference is the allegations say that Harper forces all Conservative candidates to participate in his money laundering scheme whether they want to or not, then enters incorrect data, then stalls on providing the correct data, then sues when Election Canada points out the obvious, and then go on to make statements implying he sees himself above the law, as if the distinction between riding and federal party expenses were meaningless. Harper had sued Election Canada previously, and lost, when he was caught breaking the rules on third party advertising. He is the opposite of a leader who pledges to fully cooperate with our regulatory bodies. Harper has shown himself to be the kind of leader who says I'll decide what is right and wrong and sue you if you disagree with me even if you are right. But, follow him if this is what you like.
Posted by: catherine at October 29, 2007 05:27 AM
Gee, which Liberal leader does that sound like? Chretien? Martin? Trudeau? All of them?
People who yell "Your house is burning down!" when the ignition source was sparks blowing over from theirs, bore me.
Posted by: Jim at October 29, 2007 06:17 AM
Thanks, catherine, 'think I will.
One of our problems, especially under the Liberal dispensation, is that there were far too many "regulatory bodies," as you call them, created and "policed" under the auspices of Liberal appointees, largely to hamper the Libs' political opponents. The "Librano$" tag hasn't stuck to this party by chance. And the "bully" tag rightly belongs to the party of the Chretien hug, Alphonso Gagliano, and brown envelopes full of cash showing up in Quebec Italian restaurants.
Follow them if this is what you like.
Posted by: 'been around the block at October 29, 2007 06:20 AM
Where have you been catherine, in dreamland?
Harper sees himself above the law? Where were you during the Chretien reign? Where were you during the Gomery Inquiry?
Time to wake up and catch up with all the sleaze intrigue of the brown envelopes of cash that fueled the biggest political scandal in our history, it even had a name, we call it Adscam.
Afraid you Libs have no leg to stand on. Adscam is not cleared up, our money has not been returned. Accusing Mr. Harper of money laundering is outrageous and most pathetic.
Posted by: Libby at October 29, 2007 06:52 AM
I hate to say it, but I'm beginning to think that most Liberals are stupid.
With all its corruption and kaos, how can you continue to stick up for the Liberal Party Of Canada. Are people brainwashed? Drugged?
I'm glad (at least, according to the polls) people are waking up to this fact.
The Conservatives are now in majority territory (i.e. 40%+). People are comfortable with a Harper majority. Mr. Harper is the most popular party leader.
Posted by: Lex Luthor at October 29, 2007 07:15 AM
My libs? You really like to jump to conclusions don't you? It has been many years since I voted Liberal -- they lost my vote before adscam. But I thought we were discussing Harper and Dion. I see there is not much interest here in holding all leaders to the same standard.
Posted by: catherine at October 29, 2007 07:38 AM
I am out here in sunny Alberta, awake at 6am alta. time and usally read the headlines from all national papers.
Headlines in all papers of Blair Wilson's resignation from caucus in all except---you guessed it--- THE TORONTO STAR.
Posted by: norsky at October 29, 2007 08:09 AM
Hi, Catherine...
I just wanted to see how long it would take you to respond to my message. 23 minutes! Wow!
Aren't you one of Garth's mindless groupies?
Posted by: Lex Luthor at October 29, 2007 08:12 AM
Precisely, catherine. Harper doesn't believe what he's doing is wrong - so he's taking them to court over it. If the court decides in his favour then by definition, what he's doing is NOT wrong.
If it decides against him, let's watch what he does next - it could be very instructional for all of us.
Unlike Wilson, who (like many generations of politicians, not all of them Liberal, before him) paid cash and asked for no receipts, in only too full knowledge that what he was doing WAS wrong - and doing it anyways.
The Liberals having been in power for the last several terms, their manifold sins 'n wickednesses in this regard are fresh on all our minds; but I'm old enough to recall Lyin' Brian and Dim Kim, and a few of their "unique" ideas as to how a country should be run.
And if you're confused as to who to vote for after all this, then for your voting pleasure I humbly suggest my personal system. I swore I'd never vote for the LIEberals while under Trudeau, and swore I'd never vote for the CONservatives while under Mulroney. And I don't - I now only vote against.
Posted by: Jim at October 29, 2007 09:37 AM
I've asked before about this but if Wilson's election to office is attributed to alleged financial misdealings and he is punished for that why hasn't the whole Liberal party been brought to account for the Adscam fiasco. Seems to me if Wilson has to resign over allegations them something should be done about the Chretien governments money laundering that was discovered during the Gomery inquirey.
Posted by: Antenor at October 29, 2007 09:52 AM
The usual rabble suffering from Leftist Mental Disorder back trying to feed this morning. C & J have another kool-aid. HAHAHA!
Posted by: Bruce Randall at October 29, 2007 11:12 AM
How did this guy get appointed as a finance critic. Did Dion just wake up one morning and have a revelation. Who suggested Wilson. Has Wilson been noticed in the HofC during QP. Why him. The scary thing is, if he remained as critic, chances are, should Dion become PM, Wilson would have been Finance Minister. (maybe dion remembered another minister with that name). With Wilson's questionable background and money management skills, all the ducks were lined up to bring in ADSCAM 2.
The liberals have refused to learn from mistakes, and that they have to be cleaner than freshly falling snow.
As for the in and out, there are 308 ridings, and not every small town has a tv station or a paper or radio station. How are these voters to be reached, except by national advertizing, with costs shared by all candidates, of whatever party.
Posted by: Mary T at October 29, 2007 01:28 PM
BATB: "One of our problems, especially under the Liberal dispensation, is that there were far too many "regulatory bodies," as you call them, created and "policed" under the auspices of Liberal appointees..."
Once again, BATB is right on the money with this. I can't remember the exact quote from Michael Walker of Fraser Institute fame, but the paraphrase is: "Corruption is directly proportional to regulation."
Posted by: felis corpulentis at October 29, 2007 02:17 PM
"I will collaborate fully with Elections Canada, and do whatever I can to help expedite its investigation into the allegations," the B.C. MP said."Collaborate"? Interesting choice of words...
Excuse me, Mr. Wilson - your Freudian slip is showing!
Posted by: Tom at October 29, 2007 02:36 PM
Does this mean he will not sit as an independant. Perhaps he and Casey can enjoy a game of double solitarie.
Posted by: Mary T at October 29, 2007 02:51 PM
The thing that still puzzles me is if Dion is so opposed to corruption why hasn't he released the names of all the Liberal MPs who recieved and spent Adscam cash to get re-elected?
Posted by: Phil at October 29, 2007 10:04 PM
Yeah, "collaborate" is an interesting word choice from Wilson. With Liberals it's not surprising they'd figure they could collaborate and come up clean, honest mistake, yadda, yadda.
Windbag Jennings said Wilson did the right thing by resigning right away got another smackdown from Peter Van Loan, he said they were intent on sweeping it under the carpet until it appeared in the front page of the newspaper.
Puffin Iggy was inadvertently right when he said the Wilson incident is not like the Conservative controversy with EC. For sure it isn't, the Conservatives did what was legal and didn't attempt to hide a bloody thing. No Puffins required in the Conservative party.
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