The RCMP is investigating whether Conservative members of Parliament made improper use of the voters list in the recent Canadian Wheat Board elections.
The investigation is in response to a complaint lodged by the National Farmers Union Nov. 5.
In a Jan. 9 news release, the RCMP said the complaint alleges the list was “improperly accessed and used by unauthorized personnel” during the election period.
The investigation is being conducted by an officer from the Regina Border Integrity Section. No other information was released, nor any indication as to when the investigation would be completed.
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The controversy was triggered by letters sent out by the MPs to producers urging them to vote for certain candidates and directing them how to fill out their preferential ballots. That prompted questions about where those MPs got their mailing lists.
Under the CWB Act, only the board, the election co-ordinator and the candidates have access to the voters list and candidates must sign an affidavit agreeing to keep it confidential.
Many of the letters were addressed in ways that indicate they were based on the official voters list.
Some were mailed to numbered companies, some to corporate farm names and some contained spelling mistakes or versions of the recipients’ names that are used only on their permit books.
NFU president Stewart Wells said the five MPs have failed to provide an adequate explanation of how they put together their mailing lists.
“Given that it is an offence under the CWB Act to break the act or its regulations, it seems the only way to get to the truth is to ask the RCMP to investigate, and that is what we have done,” he said.
David Anderson, one of the MPs who sent out a letter, declined to comment directly on the investigation, but denied wrongdoing.
“We used nothing that wasn’t publicly available, so I feel totally comfortable with the situation,” he said.
On the same day the RCMP announced its investigation, the House of Commons ethics commissioner rejected a complaint filed against the five MPs by Pat Martin, the NDP member for Winnipeg Centre.
Anderson noted that the speaker of the House had earlier ruled the letters did not constitute a breach of privilege and the federal privacy commissioner declined to look into the case, saying she had no jurisdiction over MPs.
“That’s all good news,” said Anderson.
Wells said the case raises questions that go beyond the voters list.
“All these MPs are acting as if they are above any set of laws, rules or regulations,” he said.”The question is, ‘are they above the law?’ “
