Angry in the Great White North

Elections Canada rules are quite clear.  Election advertising has to be authorized by an official agent:

Identification of election advertising

All election advertising that promotes or opposes a candidate, including taking a position on an issue with which a registered party or candidate is associated, must indicate who authorized it (e.g. if promoting or opposing a candidate in his or her own electoral district, it must be authorized by the official agent of the candidate).

For example, a pamphlet promoting candidate Jane Brown should display the following message: Authorized by the official agent of Jane Brown.

Seems simple enough.  But then why does veteran Liberal MP Garth Turner seem to have forgotten this?

Here is the top of Garth Turner's home page:

It quite clearly asks the reader to support Garth Turner, promoting him as an MP and as Canada's Digital Democracy Leader.

The bottom of the page, however, makes no mention of an official agent:

And what about donations?

Well, whereas many Liberal MPs use a donation link on their webpage to go the Liberal Party's donation page, Garth Turner maintains his own.

Here is the top of Garth Turner's donations page:

Clearly a page dedicated to promoting Garth Turner.  Further down the page, the Liberal Party is explicitly named.

But again, no mention of an official agent:

Actually, it's even worse than that.  Garth Turner tells people to send their cheques to the Halton Federal Liberal Association.  In fact, he does it twice.  Those instructions are in the screenshot above, as well as on this one from the same page:

That's illegal (or maybe not -- check the update below):

The candidate must appoint an official agent – who will act as the treasurer of the campaign – before any election expense can be paid or contribution received. The candidate may need to appoint the agent before the candidate’s nomination, and even before the issue of the writ.

The official agent is responsible for administering the candidate’s financial transactions for the candidate’s electoral campaign, and for reporting on those transactions in accordance with the Act.

All of the candidate’s financial transactions for the campaign that involve the payment or receipt of money are to be paid from, or deposited to, the account by the official agent. Cheques must be made payable to the official agent.

What official agent?  Garth Turner doesn't seem to have one.  He wants the cheques to go to the Liberal riding association.  That's OK outside of the election period, but not after the writ has dropped.  And outside of the election period, you are making donations to the party or the association, and not to "Garth Turner's re-election campaign":

Outside an election period, only a registered agent of a registered party or a registered association, if authorized, may issue receipts valid for income tax purposes for monetary contributions to the registered party or registered association.

After the writ drops and the candidate has been confirmed by Elections Canada, the riding association can transfer the money it has been storing up to the campaign account (through the official agent, of course) to fight the campaign.

It's all very elaborate and designed to make sure the candidate never directly touches the money, or even has access to it, and that the money is only released once there is (1) an election, (2) a candidate, and (3) an official agent.

I suppose Elections Canada and Garth Turner can work all this out with a simple accounting of all money received illegally since the election writ was dropped, returning those cheques, canceling the pre-numbered official receipts issued by Elections Canada, updating his website, and then going back to donors and asking for new cheques, and then issuing new receipts.

Update: I wonder if it is ok to send all the money to the riding association first, then have the riding association transfer to the campaign account, even during the election cycle.  Might be.  But then there is still the problem of the official agent not approving the "promotional" website.

(2.2) A transfer of funds, other than trust funds, is permitted and is not a contribution for the purposes of this Act if it is
(a) from a registered party to a candidate endorsed by the party; or
(b) from a registered association to a candidate endorsed by the party with which the association is affiliated.