Oh Those Pesky - Whacky - Crooked Conservatives!!
"OTTAWA -- A special parliamentary committee hearing into the federal Conservative party's financing of the 2006 election took a dramatic turn Monday when the party's chief campaign strategist was escorted from the witness table by House of Commons security. National campaign director Doug Finley refused to leave his seat at the committee table when instructed to by ethics committee chair Paul Szabo. [...] Finley and his lawyer sat impassively for six minutes until two Commons constables arrived and asked him to leave."
-Security escorts Tory official from hearing - Regina Leader-Post
"Four former Conservative candidates described yesterday how their campaigns were approached by party officials and asked to agree to wire transfers that would move money in and out of their bank accounts during the 2006 election."
-Testimony puts Tories in hot seat - The Gazette
"OTTAWA — The Conservative party advised former candidates and their agents not to testify at a Commons committee inquiry into questionable election expenses in the so-called "in-and-out" scheme, MPs were told Monday."
-Tories allegedly told to snub committee - The Chronicle Herald
"Elections Canada alleges the Conservatives overshot their national campaign spending limit by transferring $1.3 million in expenses for radio and television advertising to local candidates."
-Tory witnesses no-shows at 'in-and-out' hearing - CTV
"Parliamentary committees are still a fundamental component of our democratic system. As such, you'd expect leading members of our governing party to have at least a modicum of respect for them - not to make boorish gestures aimed at undermining their credibility. But then, that would assume our governing party wasn't actively committed to undermining as many of our institutions as possible. Once again, you get the sense the Tories would be considerably happier in opposition. But they're certainly not going to let being in government stop them from ensuring that Parliament is as dysfunctional as possible."
-The natural opposition party - Adam Radwanski
