“The information provided to date by the Patrick Brown campaign did not satisfy concerns about their compliance with our Rules and Procedures and/or the Canada Elections Act. The Chief Returning Officer has therefore recommended to LEOC that LEOC disqualify Patrick Brown and earlier tonight LEOC agreed to do so,” said LEOC Chair Ian Brodie.
Patrick Brown has been disqualified from the CPC leadership race.
Here is the full statement from Ian Brodie, Chair of the CPC Leadership Election Organizing Committe:
“In recent weeks, our Party became aware of serious allegations of wrongdoing by the Patrick Brown campaign that appear to violate the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act. Following our Rules and Procedures for the 2022 Leadership, the Chief Returning Officer notified the Patrick Brown campaign of the allegations and asked for a written response. He also withheld the interim membership list from the Patrick Brown campaign.
“The information provided to date by the Patrick Brown campaign did not satisfy concerns about their compliance with our Rules and Procedures and/or the Canada Elections Act. The Chief Returning Officer has therefore recommended to LEOC that LEOC disqualify Patrick Brown and earlier tonight LEOC agreed to do so. The Party will be sharing the information it has gathered with Elections Canada, who is responsible for ensuring compliance with, and enforcement of, the Canada Elections Act.
“Throughout the investigation into these allegations, the Chief Returning Officer and I have done our best to be fair to the Patrick Brown leadership campaign and provide them with the time they need to substantively refute these allegations. We regret having to take these steps but we have an obligation to ensure that both our Party’s Rules and federal law are respected by all candidates and campaign teams. None of these problems has any impact on the integrity of the vote itself.
“While we felt it important to provide a transparent response to Party members about this matter, because this issue is now subject to further investigation, we will not be speaking further on the subject.”
French version:
« Lors des dernières semaines, notre Parti a pris connaissance de sérieuses allégations d’actes répréhensibles de la campagne de Patrick Brown qui semblent violer les règles régissant les dispositions financières de la Loi électorale du Canada. En vertu des Règles et procédures du Parti régissant l’élection du Chef en 2022, le Directeur général des élections (DGE) a avisé la campagne de Patrick Brown de ces allégations et a demandé une réponse écrite. Il a également retenu la version préliminaire de la liste nationale des électeurs destinée à la campagne de Patrick Brown.
« L’information transmise jusqu’ici par la campagne de Patrick Brown n’a pas répondu aux inquiétudes quant au respect de nos Règles et procédures et/ou de la Loi électorale du Canada. Le DGE a par conséquent recommandé au Comité organisateur de l’élection du Chef (COEC) que le COEC disqualifie Patrick Brown. Plus tôt en soirée, le COEC a accepté la recommandation du DGE et a disqualifié Patrick Brown. Le Parti partagera l’information colligée avec Élections Canada, qui est responsable d’assurer le respect et l’application de la Loi électorale du Canada.
« Durant l’enquête sur ces allégations, le DGE et moi-même avons fait de notre mieux pour être équitable envers la campagne au leadership de Patrick Brown et nous leur avons accordé le temps nécessaire afin que son équipe puisse réfuter substantiellement ces allégations. Nous regrettons d’avoir à prendre ces mesures mais nous avons l’obligation d’assurer le respect autant des Règles de notre Parti que de la Loi fédérale de la part de tous les candidats et de leur équipe de campagne. Aucune de ces difficultés ont des conséquences sur l’intégrité du vote lui-même.
« Bien que nous ayons jugé important de fournir une réponse transparente aux membres du Parti à ce sujet, car cette question fait maintenant l’objet d’une enquête approfondie, nous n’émettrons aucun commentaire additionnel sur cet enjeu. »
A divisive campaign comes to an ignominious end
Brown had already been struggling to win over Conservatives, in large part due to his decision to launch unhinged, Trudeau-style attacks against popular front-runner Pierre Poilievre, and the perception that he would perpetuate the Liberal tactic of exploiting cultural divisions for political gain, regardless of the consequences.
Brown spent most of his time attacking Poilievre and criticizing Conservative ideas, rather than criticizing the massive damage the Trudeau Liberals are doing to our country.
That almost certainly would precluded Brown from winning the leadership race, even if he hadn’t been disqualified.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
