Conservative party director takes hit for school fees

OTTAWA • The status of Dustin Van Vugt as the Conservative party’s executive director was in limbo Friday night, after it was revealed there had been an agreement to have the party pay the private school fees of leader Andrew Scheer’s children.

Scheer announced his resignation on Thursday, less than 24 hours after information about the deal was slipped to some media outlets.

Van Vugt confirmed in a statement that the payments had been approved by the party.

“All proper procedures were followed and signed off on by the appropriate people,” the executive director said Thursday.

But according to some Conservatives, who were not authorized to speak publicly about internal matters, the news was a surprise to directors of the Conservative Fund, a separate entity that raises money for the party. Its directors include former prime minister Stephen Harper, former senator Irving Gerstein, and current senator Linda Frum, according to public listings.

The Fund’s directors held a conference call Friday, after which an email was circulated to employees at Ottawa headquarters saying Van Vugt was no longer employed there. But under the party’s constitution, the Conservative Fund doesn’t have the authority to fire the executive director.

The constitution says the leader, who is still Scheer, gets to hire that person, upon approval of the national council, a body elected by the party membership to represent every province. It’s not clear who has the authority to dismiss him.

The Fund, however, holds the purse strings and can decide simply to stop supplying the money to pay him.

The party’s officials did not reply to questions about Van Vugt’s status Friday.

Having the party pay for Scheer’s kids to go to private Catholic school in Ottawa — he has four school-aged children, and tuition is about $15,000 a year — did not sit well with many Conservatives.

Former Conservative senator Jean-guy Dagenais, who left the Conservative caucus this fall because of Scheer’s socially conservative views, said Thursday Scheer should have to pay the money back.