Have Conservatives been ‘pre-election campaigning?’

August 5, 2015 · 0 Comments

The following letter, addressed to Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson, was submitted to the citizen for publication.
Please clarify for me.
This morning (Aug. 2), I just heard our current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, give a speech announcing the dissolution of Parliament and the beginning of a very long and expensive election campaign. He announced that the political parties would be paying for the campaign. However, I understand that the Canadian taxpayers reimburse the eligible political parties at 50 cents on the dollar, the eligible candidates at 60 cents on the dollar, and Elections Canada for every dollar spent.
If this is true, then it’s at odds with what the Prime Minister said on national television, and Canadian taxpayers will be paying millions more for a 78 day campaign than for the minimum 37-day campaign.
I would also like you to clarify the difference in the current Prime Minister’s opening statements when he referred in French to Canada’s top three priorities for security, the economy and the environment, but only mentioned security and the economy in the English speech.
I would also like you to clarify if the dropping of more than $1 billion in public funds should be classified as pre-election campaigning.
Thanks for your attention to this matter.
Skid Crease,
Bolton