In previous communications I said Marshall Neufeld had resigned as Stockwell Day’s Parliamentary Assistant early in the New Year. I apologize; that is inaccurate. Neufeld had resigned long before that. This inaccurate information was provided by none other than Fred King, former Conservative MP for this area and Dan Albas’s biggest endorser. The fact that King provided this misinformation while Albas was still in a heated nomination race with Neufeld speaks volumes. But, the buck stops with me. I take full responsibility for conveying the misinformation to you and apologize for its inaccuracy.
Now here’s the latest…
It’s just not credible when Stockwell Day claims that “Nobody had a heads up that I was stepping down.” Prime Minister Stephen Harper knew; we now know that for certain. Who else? And how else do you explain that three members of Day’s inner circle made it into the nomination race while four perfectly qualified individuals were denied?
Dan “in-the-can” Albas, the insider who won the nomination, admits it was impossible for anyone outside of Day’s inner circle to gather all the necessary paperwork and have it in Ottawa by the deadline. In an interview with CTV News, Albas is quoted saying “I put two 19-hour days in.” Who among us could possibly put our lives on hold like that for two full days just to gather paperwork? Albas unwittingly demonstrates that the process was rigged.
One disgruntled local Conservative asked me, tongue-in-cheek, “Was the party opening the nomination up to the unemployed and the homeless?” After all, they’d have all the time in the world, wouldn’t they? Failing that, it’s a clear admittance that the party deliberately favored insiders who got cracking on their paperwork before anyone else even knew what was going on.
Doug Sharpe, the President of the Riding Association and the man who according to Elections Canada rules was supposed to be the impartial Returning Officer for the nomination, did not return calls for at least 24 hours to prospective contestants. And when he finally did call, he told them the paperwork had to come to him by Friday, not that it had to be in Ottawa. This is not an internal party matter; this is a violation of federal law governing elections, including nomination elections!
Albas will have to answer at the ballot box, but for Sharpe could very well face legal repercussions.
Mischa Popoff was the former nomination contestant for the Conservative Party (BC Southern Interior) and former Fundraising Chair for Stockwell Day (Okanagan Coquihalla)