Tag: liberal party

Does the SHAMBA foundation risk losing its charitable status?

UPDATE: Globalive’s PR people gave me a call

UPDATE: Liberal/SHAMBA association suggested by form found on Liberal Party website

Gerard Kennedy, the former Liberal leadership contender and current Liberal candidate for Parkdale High Park is holding a fundraiser tonight in order to pay off his leadership debts.

Here is the Facebook page for the event

The fundraiser is to take place with the help of the SHAMBA foundation, an organization that oversees the SHAMBA space. The concept is simple but quite original; the SHAMBA space is a rooftop patio lent out to charitable organizations to hold events. According to the foundation’s website:

The fun part – and the cornerstone of the SHAMBA foundation – is the creation of a brand new 2,500 square foot rooftop terrace designed for fantastic events that raise money for great causes. The SHAMBA Space, as we call it, is available for local charities to use at no cost to host events. In addition to donating this exquisite space, SHAMBA also negotiates sponsorships with food and beverage partners to ensure that the bulk of funds raised at an event actually go directly to the cause.

The generous concept is that of Globalive CEO Anthony Lacavera, a Gerard Kennedy leadership supporter according to data at Elections Canada.

Gerard Kennedy, like some other Liberal leadership candidates, needs to pay off his Liberal leadership debts by June 3rd or else he will run afoul of Elections Canada. Anthony Lacavera seems like a good friend with a great foundation that is helping Kennedy pay off his debts. So what’s the problem here?

The SHAMBA foundation is a registered charitable organization according to the Canadian Revenue Agency. Also, registered charities are prohibited from partisan political activity under the law.

A registered charity cannot be created for a political purpose and cannot be involved in partisan political activities. A political activity is considered partisan if it involves direct or indirect support of, or opposition to, a political party or candidate for public office.

One hopes that Gerard Kennedy will move his fundraiser to a different venue because the purpose of the SHAMBA foundation is to provide free event space for charities. According to the Facebook page, the foundation is the location for the event. If the space is not being provided for free, one hopes that Kennedy is paying fair market value for event space that never seems to be rented for a fee. Even so, should this charity be mixed up with partisan political activity?

UPDATE 5/30 4:30pm: Globalive’s PR people just gave me a call to admit that the Gerard Kennedy fundraiser was erroneously billed/described by the promoters of the event. The SHAMBA space is used for charitable events but for the intents of the Gerard Kennedy event the space should be thought of within the Globalive domain (a company) rather than that of the SHAMBA foundation (a charity); the Gerard Kennedy fundraiser took place on Globalive property rather than that of the SHAMBA foundation and though it is the same space the space takes different identities depending on the – or rather this – context. I was assured that Gerard Kennedy paid fair market value for use of the space from Globalive and that the space was not made as a donation from the company.

UPDATE 5/31 5:55pm: Here is the registration form for the event (still live on the LPC(O) website). The form clearly has the logo of the SHAMBA foundation (a registered charity). This doesn’t seem to simply be an erroneously written Facebook listing. The event is officially billed as a SHAMBA foundation/Gerard Kennedy event. I think that the earlier PR call may have been a sort of after-the-fact damage control revision of history. Charities cannot participate in partisan political activity. This form from the Liberal Party website suggests that the SHAMBA foundation and the Liberal Party have an association.

Read this doc on Scribd: Political Ideals Celebration

Conservative Party looks to Karl Rove playbook

In Ottawa this week, Conservatives hoping to sharpen their political skills looked south, to the United States of America to replicate the success of the back-to-back electoral victories of George W. Bush and the Republican machine.

In caucus, Conservative MPs and senators were treated to a strategy session that was based on information written by “Bush’s Brain”, Karl Rove. Rove served in the Bush administration as deputy chief of staff to the President and is largely known as the architect of Republican victories during the past decade. “Bush has taken what we thought we knew about politics and turned it into a different game for a different generation” was heard from Wednesday’s caucus session.

Pollsters agree that Rove’s approach to mobilizing select groups of voters on highly motivating issues is the key to creating a permanent Conservative majority. Conservatives may be facing an election this fall and are increasingly known to be studying Rove’s strategies to achieve more seats when Canadians go to the polls.

The preceding would be on the front page of the Toronto Star or the Globe and Mail if it were true. Since it is not, I’m thankful that I was able to find this analogous yet reality-based account buried on Susan Delacourt’s blog.

Weak attack by Dion on immigration

Yesterday, Stephane Dion, the embattled leader of the Liberal Party of Canada tried to attack the Prime Minister on a 20 year old position he wrote as a member of the Reform Party.

From CTV:

Using a 20-year-old Reform Party document authored by Stephen Harper, the Liberals tried to paint the prime minister as anti-immigrant Tuesday.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion quoted the document in the House of Commons, which said immigration should not “radically or suddenly alter the ethnic makeup of Canada.”

“(This) may look like an attempt to deliver promises made by the Reform party 20 years ago,” Dion said, saying the old report was the inspiration for the Conservative’s new immigration bill.

Well, now. Does anyone disagree? Logically, if Dion disagrees with Harper’s position, he would agree with the inverse:

immigration should “radically or suddenly alter the ethnic makeup of Canada.”

If we’re going to dig into the past to find old quotes from MPs, there are a few Liberal ones.

In 1992, Tom Wappel suggested refugees be held in closed military bases. (Toronto Star, November 16, 2002).

“We should just choose the best. The present system is not fair. Fairness means we don’t put the queue jumpers ahead; criminal refugees are deported quickly. We try not to burden our schools with English as a second language.” — Garth Turner (Edmonton Journal, May 19, 1993)

“The fact is our immigration minister has been allowing terrorists and criminals to enter Canada through our porous and faulty immigration laws.” — Keith Martin (Hansard, October 18, 2001)

“On the issue of criminality, individuals who have committed crimes in this country should be sent back to their country of origin.” — Keith Martin (Hansard, February 27th, 2001)

[Denis] Coderre said that immigrants and refugees who would “crachent sur mon drapeau [spit on my flag]” by supporting Quebec separation, should be deported. (National Post, January 16, 2002)

Canada needs to look at its immigration policies, she added. “Do we have people coming in illegally, who are running drugs?” — Hedy Fry (The Province, January 22, 2008)

Toronto MP John McKay, a Martin supporter and chairman of the Ontario caucus, has said he finds it bizarre that ”children and non-citizens” are able to determine who becomes the next prime minister. Mr. McKay attended Saturday’s meeting and voted in favour of the extra restrictions. (National Post, February 11, 2002)

If Dion thinks he’s found a smoking gun in a 20 year old quote by Harper, I’ll call his bet to the same inconsequential degree with some old Liberal quotes.