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Campaign records seized RCMP investigating Duffy expense claim during visit up north to campaign with Sandy Lee
Graeme McNaughton
Northern News Services
Published Monday, June 24, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Sandy Lee, former NWT health minister and Conservative Party candidate, has had her election campaign expense records seized by the RCMP in connection with the investigation into Sen. Mike Duffy's expenses.
Sandy Lee: Says her campaign followed Elections Canada rules. |
According to media reports, investigators from the RCMP Sensitive and International Investigations unit filed a court document on June 17 listing the initial details of the case, which includes the seizure of election returns from 11 Conservative candidates from the 2011 federal election.
On April 8 of last year, Lee, who was campaigning as the Conservative nominee for the Western Arctic riding, tweeted she was meeting Duffy in Norman Wells as part of her campaign.
However, Duffy was filing an expense report during that time, claiming to be on Senate business.
"My campaign filed all required reports in accordance with all relevant rules within the Elections Canada legislation and guidelines," stated Lee in an e-mail to News/North on Friday.
In his invoice to Lee, Duffy claimed $209.01 for two taxi rides to and from Pearson International Airport in Toronto from his downtown hotel, where he stayed for two days prior to flying into Yellowknife.
The invoice also indicated Duffy would be filing his travel and hotel expenses to the Conservative Party of Canada.
While political parties are mandated to pay the travel and hotel expenses if the senator is campaigning for the party's leader, it will not pay out if it is being used to campaign for an individual candidate.
Floyd Roland, president of the Western Arctic Conservative Association, said he had no knowledge of the investigation and was unable to comment.
As part of the investigation into Duffy, the RCMP also obtained copies of Duffy's residency declarations, expense claims and reports from the Senate inquiry into those expenses.
The RCMP has also launched a criminal investigation into Nigel Wright, the former chief of staff for Stephen Harper, who wrote a $90,172 cheque to Duffy to pay back the living expenses the senator had claimed and was later ordered to pay back.
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