The Mississauga News

August 6, 2008

Mississauga South MP Paul Szabo heard rumours that some Conservative Party officials would turn down invitations to testify before the House of Commons ethics committee he chairs, so he pre-empted them by issuing 31 summonses.

"Word was out," Szabo said, that the Tory officials, under investigation by Elections Canada for a so-called "in and out" scheme that appears to be illegal under elections spending laws, would try to avoid the hearings.

"So I issued summonses to them all," Szabo told

Among those Szabo has tabbed to appear at the new hearings, which begin next week, are top senior aides in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office, including his top campaign organizer, Doug Finley and Mike Donison, executive director of the Conservative Party.

Elections Canada says more than 60 Tory candidates in the last federal election may have exceeded their election spending limits through a scheme that saw the federal party give them money for local advertising campaigns. That allowed the federal campaign to avoid spending limits and meant local candidates issued tax receipts for expenses never actually incurred by them.

Conservative MP Gary Goodyear told

"You don't fire out summonses," said Goodyear. "A summons just makes the whole thing more tantalizing. It's a shameful waste of taxpayers' money."

Szabo replied that, "I'm following the rules 100 per cent. I've got my papers in order."