Joe Volpe, facing a $20,000 fine, from the party he hopes to lead, says the panel that levied the fine didn’t get it right:
Press Release
Statement from Volpe campaign.
September 29, 2006, Ottawa- The Honourable Joseph Volpe, Member of Parliament for Eglinton – Lawrence and Liberal leadership candidate released the following statement in regards to the decision handed down today by a compliance panel of the Liberal Party of Canada in regard to issues surrounding membership recruitment in Quebec.
The compliance panel seriously misconstrued the evidence before it as well as submissions and recommendations of the compliance officer and testimony of other witnesses.
“It should be noted that the panel found no evidence to suggest that Mr. Volpe or his senior campaign workers had actual knowledge of the wrongful purchase of memberships.” Liberal Party Press release
“The press release issued today by the Liberal Party prior to the compliance panels official report on Monday as well as the haste to proceed without due process seems designed to inflict as much damage as possible to my campaign immediately prior to the delegate selection meetings” Volpe added.
We will be mounting a vigorous appeal to the permanent appeals committee of the Liberal Party of Canada.