Report on the Investigation into Breaches of the Elections Act in Northside Westmount Electoral District
Report on the Investigation into Breaches of the Elections Act in Northside Westmount Electoral District
April 27, 2018
Elections Nova Scotia has concluded an investigation into political contributions ($42,000) that Chief Electoral Officer Richard Temporale believes should have been transferred to an electoral district association, decades ago.
“We’ve learned the funds were raised for Liberal candidates as far back as 1993,” says CEO Temporale, “but not transferred to the electoral district association as directed by the governing legislation of the day.”
The results of the investigation are summarized in the Report on the Investigation into Breaches of the Elections Act in Northside Westmount Electoral District, which is available in the Compliance section of the Elections Nova Scotia website https://electionsnovascotia.ca/content/compliance.
Mr. Phillip Murray of Boularderie, Nova Scotia, who kept the money in a separate fund and used it periodically as seed money for Liberal candidates running in provincial general and by-elections, refused to accept responsibility for his actions.
Mr. John Higgins of Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, cooperated with Elections Nova Scotia’s investigation, took responsibility for his inaction to report the asset that rightfully belongs to the EDA, and signed a Compliance Agreement. The Notice of Compliance Agreement is published in the Compliance section, https://electionsnovascotia.ca/content/compliance.
The Chief Electoral Officer has directed that the money in the fund be transferred to the Liberal Northside Westmount Electoral District Association by May 14, 2018.
Media Contact:
Andy LeBlanc
Director, Policy & Communications
902-424-3275
Andy.LeBlanc@novascotia.ca