The official agent for a Conservative candidate in Toronto told The Canadian Press yesterday that he and other potential witnesses were told by an organizer for the federal party as late as Monday that they didn’t have to testify at the inquiry if they didn’t want to.
Douglas Lowry said the organizer, whom he named as Carmen McGregor, gave the advice after he and others received summonses from the Commons ethics committee.
“We’ve all been told,” Mr. Lowry said.
[...]
He said he and the other Conservatives were given the advice Monday, adding that Ms. McGregor said it in her capacity as a party official.
“She said it, but she’s from the party. She would contact whoever the executive director is.”
Conservative MP Dean Del Maestro confirmed the party has a Toronto regional organizer named McGregor, but said he believes her first name is Carma not Carmen. Party spokesman Ryan Sparrow did not respond to an e-mail asking for a comment or response from Ms. McGregor. {Tim Naumetz, Canadian Press]
Perhaps The Sparrow was thrown off by the fact that her name is actually Karma MacGregor – not “Carmen” or “Carma” (and many thanks to the reader who alerted ITQ to the name confusion).
Otherwise, he would certainly have had something to say about Lowry’s allegation that a Conservative organizer known as “Finley’s GSA axe-woman”, according to a local Blogging Tory, was apparently offering somewhat dubious advice to at least one former candidate and future witness as recently as Monday (and whose more recent involvement in a hotly contested Mississauga nomination battle is chronicled here).
Or, if not him, perhaps Doug Finley could chat about this latest development when he appears before the committee at the appointed – as opposed to his self-appointed – hour later today. Because he is going to show up, right? I mean, otherwise, it might look as though he – and his party – have something to hide.
For fun: How would have the then-opposition Conservatives reacted if the Liberal Party had warned potential witnesses away from the Public Accounts committee during hearings on the sponsorship scandal?
