XPost: can.politics, ont.politics, bc.politics   
   XPost: ab.politics   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
     . . . .  Becoming one of many Tory MPs who don't like some of his   
   policies.  But this one is serious enough to ask for money to fight it.   
   Anyone contributing anything to a Conservative party these days had   
   better get a tax receipt with a note on it specifying what it is for.   
   Otherwise, this could just be another Con scam to solicit funding for   
   the election in 2015 (or sooner).   
   ________________________________________________   
   OTTAWA CITIZEN - January 15, 2014   
      
   Tory MP raising money to fight bulb ban her party enacted   
      
      
   OTTAWA — A Conservative MP’s campaign against her own government’s ban   
   of incandescent light bulbs is directing the donations it receives to a   
   Conservative riding association and giving contributors tax receipts for   
   political contributions.   
      
   Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant is leading the campaign   
   against the Conservative government’s policy to phase out traditional   
   light bulbs beginning this month.   
      
   The website, stopthelightbulbban.ca, solicits donations to the cause of   
   saving traditional bulbs.   
      
   “Choose how you want to help spread the word about the looming light   
   bulb ban!” the campaign’s donation page reads.   
      
   “You can donate up to $1,200. You will receive a political tax receipt   
   for your donation and are eligible for a federal political tax credit.”   
      
   When contributions are processed, they are sent via PayPal to the   
   Conservative Party riding association in Timmins–James Bay.   
      
   Effectively, Gallant is raising money for Conservatives by rallying   
   opposition to a policy they enacted.   
      
   The Citizen made a token $5 donation through the site’s contribution   
   portal and received a message from PayPal indicating the payment had   
   been sent to the Conservative riding association and included a link to   
   a receipt.   
      
   Political contributions to riding associations are tax-deductible but   
   donations to public-interest campaigns, such as the light bulb drive,   
   would not typically qualify for a tax receipt unless the money goes to a   
   registered charity.   
      
   Elections Canada takes a dim view of soliciting political donations   
   under the guise of an unrelated cause.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^    (=_=)   
   The federal New Democrats admitted breaking election finance rules in   
   2011 when they processed in-memoriam donations to honour their late   
   leader Jack Layton as political contributions to the party, offering up   
   tax receipts to donors.   
      
   The light bulb website is run by Brendan Mulvihill, who managed   
   Gallant’s 2011 election campaign.   
      
   He said the donations were processed through the Timmins riding   
   association “so the donors could get the political tax credit.”   
      
   The money will be used to buy advertising for the light bulb campaign on   
   Facebook and possibly on Twitter or Google, he said. The riding   
   association will report the spending in their annual filings, he said.   
      
   “There are very strict rules on how we raise money but what we spend   
   money on outside the writ is at the discretion of the association.”   
      
   He wouldn’t disclose how much money had been raised but said, “I’ve been   
   surprised by the response. It’s been very positive.”   
      
   Mulvihill said it was easy to set up the PayPal donations page because   
   he also administers the Timmins–James Bay riding association webpage, as   
   he managed the Conservative campaign there in 2008.   
      
   The riding is currently held by high-profile NDP MP Charlie Angus, a   
   particularly aggressive critic of the Conservative government’s ethics.   
      
   Angus said he hasn’t seen any signs that local Tories are building a war   
   chest to challenge him in 2015 but he says it isn’t ethical to raise   
   money for a cause and then take in the cash as political donations.   
      
   “Cheryl Gallant is advertising a fight against a Conservative policy and   
   she is funnelling money to a Conservative riding association,” he said.   
      
   “If you’re raising money for a political party, you should be saying   
   you’re raising money for a political party. Otherwise, it’s false   
   advertising.”   
      
   Money contributed to the riding association could legally be transferred   
   to the campaign of whoever runs against Angus in 2015, sent to another   
   riding anywhere in the country or passed up to the federal Conservative   
   Party.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   Gallant did not respond to a call seeking comment.   
      
   Her quixotic campaign to save the incandescent bulb is directed at   
   federal regulations that banned the import and manufacture of 75- and   
   100-watt versions of the bulb this month and will extend it to 40- and   
   60-watt versions in 2015.   
      
   The site raises doubts about the safety of compact fluorescent units   
   (CFL) that will replace the incandescent bulbs, describing the mercury   
   they contain as “particularly harmful” and listing in detail the   
   government’s alarmingly long list of cleanup procedures should a CFL break.   
      
   Gallant’s website encourages visitors to co-sign with her an electronic   
   letter to Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, Environment Minister   
   Leona Aglukkaq and Health Minister Rona Ambrose.   
      
   There is no mention, however, of the fact the regulations banning   
   incandescents were enacted by the Conservative government, a party to   
   which Gallant belongs. Gallant is also a member of the House of Commons   
   Industry Committee.   
      
   The regulations were adopted in 2007, when current Foreign Minister John   
   Baird held the environment portfolio. Baird announced the changes at a   
   Home Depot store in Nepean, promising the switch would cut six million   
   tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year.   
      
   The ban is intended to begin taking effect in 2012, the same year as the   
   U.S., but was delayed until this year to allow manufacturers more time   
   to adapt.   
      
   Angus said that Gallant ought to protest outside Baird’s office if she’s   
   serious about opposing the new light bulb rules.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)