Timing of Poilievre householder questioned
Praise for Child Care Benefit seems to some to be unfair campaigning
When a householder from Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre landed in Glenn Johnson’s mailbox on Wednesday, he had questions about the timing.
The newsletter from Poilievre, the Tory government’s Employment and Social Development minister, arrived after the writ was dropped last weekend. The cover of the publication raves about the Conservative government’s new child care benefit.
“Raising a family is hard work. That’s why I’m happy the Conservative government is increasing the Universal Child Care Benefits with payments starting July 20,” says an article on the cover of the householder attributed to a woman named “Elizabeth” — no last name — pictured with two girls.
MPs have the budget to send out printed householders, which inform constituents about activities and issues, up to four times a year.
But Johnson was skeptical about the timing.
“Pierre Poilievre sent out a taxpayer-funded householder — larger than usual to arrive during (an) election campaign. It arrived Wednesday,” Johnson wrote on Twitter and Facebook.
“That is deliberate and dishonest and is the kind of thing voters need to stop. This should be an election expense.”
An aide in Poilievre’s office said Thursday that the householder had been pre-approved by the House of Commons and was already mailed when the writ was dropped.
According to Elections Canada, an MP who is running as a candidate in an election can issue a householder during the election period, but it is considered an election expense. There is a grace period for those mailed when an election is called.
“If a householder is in transit on the day the election is called and the candidate does not have the ability to stop the delivery, it will not be considered an election expense even though the actual delivery will take place during the election period. However, any householder distributed in the 36 days preceding a fixed date election will be considered an election expense.”
The content in householders must be approved by the House of Commons. MPs may not include solicitations for donations or party memberships or election campaign material.
Poilievre was not the only MP whose householder was in the mail before the writ was dropped.
Ottawa South Liberal MP David McGuinty’s newsletter also arrived in constituents’ mailboxes this week.
McGuinty said for the past 11 years, his office has produced an end-ofsession householder for constituents at the end of June because he wants to include information about the winners of scholarships sponsored by the riding association. The material was approved and finalized on July 9 and sent out to be printed and mailed.
“No one even expected Stephen Harper would call an election in the middle of the August long weekend,” said McGuinty. “On the day the writ was dropped, I had no idea where the householder was in the sequence of events.”
McGuinty said he didn’t want his householder to be counted as an election expense, and he did his best to stop it from being mailed, including sending an email to the acting clerk of the House of Commons, who was on vacation.