Elections Canada relies on the public to catch illegal donations
In a shocking admission, chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault revealed Elections Canada doesn’t actively verify whether political donations comply with federal law. Instead, the agency relies on the general public to spot any illegal foreign donations.
WHAT?>Have you ever read a donor list? Elections Canada is outsourcing donor scrutiny to everyday Canadians who are somehow supposed to know who is a foreign national funnelling money to a preferred candidate. pic.twitter.com/vscucqWjCO
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) September 25, 2024
Put more plainly: Elections Canada is outsourcing its job to regular Canadians.
Perrault made these statements while testifying at the Foreign Interference Commission on Tuesday, admitting Elections Canada lacks the tools to ensure that all donations come from legitimate sources.
Chief Electoral Officer can't recall a case ever being referred for investigation of a third party taking money from a foreign entity.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) September 25, 2024
previous foreign interference commission testimony revealed that 250K in foreign money flowed in to influence the 2019 election. pic.twitter.com/xKPqtbGlG9
“We do not have information that would allow us to vet whether all these contributors are either Canadian citizens or permanent residents,” he said.
Instead, the names of donors who contribute over $200 are published in the hope that someone out there will notice something suspicious.
Perrault acknowledged that illegal foreign financing is “possible” but downplayed the risk, claiming it would be “difficult” to do at scale.
Current Sgt At Arms in the House of Commons, Pat McDonnell says he wanted security briefings for MPs on foreign targeting of MPs. They never came.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) September 24, 2024
"in this paragraph, we see that in December 2019, the clerk of the Privy Council sought the Prime Minister's authorization to… pic.twitter.com/CELXv2voym
Even more concerning is the revelation of a top-secret memo showing that foreign actors, including Chinese agents, have already funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars into Canadian elections.
Here's a shorter clip of CPC lawyer Nando De Luca asking the Panel of 5 what they knew about two transfers of PRC money totalling $250,000 destined for 11 candidates in late 2018—early 2019.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) April 8, 2024
The money flowed from the PRC to local proxies, to the staff of a 2019 federal… pic.twitter.com/i5Ibj6F6kG
How can Canadians trust a system that admits it’s not airtight, all while foreign money continues to corrupt our democracy?
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
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