Hey Stephen Harper, about that campaign fundraising activity you said your Senators never did…

Back in the 2011 campaign, the NDP raised red flags about Conservative and Liberal Senators campaigning on the public dime, and even invited Canadians to help us out by emailing us or using the #sawasenator hashtag.

Despite the obvious campaigning by Senators like Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy, Stephen Harper said to the House of Commons:

“Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party has been clear that it pays its own campaign expenses.” – Stephen Harper, House of Commons, June 4, 2013

And the Minister of Democratic Reform said:

“Any and all expenses for the Conservative Party of Canada during a campaign have been paid by the party.” – Pierre Poilievre, House of Commons, May 31, 2013

Here’s a list of all the campaign and fundraising activities for Pamela Wallin found by auditors:

“Senator Wallin drove from Wadena to Saskatoon on April 15, 2009. The Senator's Office represented to us that Senator Wallin was the keynote speaker at a public event organized by the four local Conservative Party electoral district associations (‘EDAs’). The Conservative party represented this event as a $100 per plate dinner put on by the four local EDAs. This does not appear to be Senate business, as it was a fundraising event.” Deloitte Audit, Claim # 5390 “Senator Wallin travelled from Trenton to Toronto on April, 30 2011 to participate as member of a televised political panel discussion on the unfolding election results. The Senator represented to us that she participated in this panel as a representative of the Conservative Party. This does not appear to be Senate business due to the partisan nature of the Senators role.” Deloitte Audit, Deloitte Audit, Claim # 17087 “Senator Wallin travelled from Ottawa to Montreal and back to Ottawa on September 17, 2009. The Senator's Office represented that the purpose of the trip was to attend a special event honouring the former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney marking the milestone achievements of NAFTA and the GST. This appears to be a partisan event, and therefore, this appears not to be Senate business.” Deloitte Audit, #13670 “Senator Wallin flew from Ottawa to Toronto on September 18, 2010. The Senator's Office represented that on the same day the Senator was the keynote speaker at a riding event in Kitchener, where she spoke about Canada's role in Afghanistan and Canada no longer being a spectator nation. Our research indicates that this is a Conservative Party fundraising event, and therefore, this does not appear to be Senate business.” Deloitte Audit, Claim # 18055 “The Senator's Office represented that on April 15, 2011 the Senator drove from Wadena to Saskatoon and return to attend the Here for Canada PM Rally. Our research indicates that this was a Conservative Party Rally, and therefore, does not appear to be Senate business due to its partisan nature. The Senator was reimbursed by the Senate for travel expenses totalling $230.88 related to this trip.” Deloitte Audit, Claim # 17089

Canadians deserve better.