Day riding documents found in treasure Tories left in Opposition Leader's Office
by Romeo St. Martin

[PoliticsWatch updated 5:02 p.m. March 22, 2007]

OTTAWA  — The Liberals say that "new" documents they have sent to the RCMP regarding Public Security Minister Stockwell Day's 2000 riding nomination were discovered in a treasure trove of paper the Tories left in the Opposition leader's office upon taking power early last year.   

An official in Liberal leader Stephane Dion's office told PoliticsWatch that the Conservatives left approximately 30 boxes of documents in the Opposition leader's office last February after they moved into the PMO.  
 
The Opposition leader's office and the Prime Minister's Office are separated by less than two blocks on Ottawa's Wellington Street. 

The Conservatives had spent nine years as either the Reform Party, the Canadian Alliance or the Conservative Party in the Opposition Leader's Office and obviously a lot of documents had accumulated. 
 
But the Tories had less than two weeks to move into the PMO following the January 23 election. In that rush, at least one member of the PM's staff was seen carrying his office lamp and a box down Wellington Street to his the new office. 

The Tories, whose supporters had hope would find skeletons in the Liberals' closet once they got into government, it seems had left "thousands" of documents with their political opponents.  
 
The official in Dion's office described most of the documents as "junk," such as old news clippings. 

Staff had been slowly sifting through the boxes and last week happened upon four pages that appear to be the details of a negotiated financial settlement between the Alliance, the OLO and former Canadian Alliance MP Jim Hart, who resigned his seat in the summer of 2000 to allow Day to run in his riding. 

The Liberals sent the documents to their lawyers who then advised them to forward them to the RCMP. 

In 2001, the RCMP looked into whether the MP had been paid to step aside to make room for Day, but decided against launching an investigation. 

During question period, Government House Leader Peter Van Loan said "there is absolutely nothing new here."

"The RCMP investigated this matter. It looked into all the things that the (the Liberals have) alleged and concluded that there was no wrongdoing."

But Liberal MP Mark Holland told reporters after question period that "it seems extremely unlikely that the RCMP would have seen these documents."

In one of the documents the Alliance MP wrote, "I could have remained in office until the general election, finished my term and not experienced these (financial) losses. My resignation was contingent upon this negotiation."

Holland said that statement, if proven to be true, "is criminal and so the RCMP would not have seen these documents. These would be new to them."

"I think it's critical given this new information that an investigation be reopened. It's clear they didn't have this information before."

Holland said he believes the documents show the then Alliance party violated sections 124 and 125 of the Criminal Code with regards to selling or purchasing public office. 

Holland wants Day to temporarily step aside until the RCMP makes a decision on whether to reopen the investigation. 

But in question period, Day responded to Holland's allegations despite a speaker's ruling that the questions were out of order. 

"The last time the Liberals tried this drive-by smear, the RCMP concluded, and I quote from their conclusions, 'No criminal offence had been committed.' he said.

Day accused Holland of attempting a "drive-by smear" and said "Mr. Hart is being hurt in this process." 
 

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