The federal riding of Labrador is vacant right now after Conservative incumbent Peter Penashue resigned amid allegations that he violated federal election finance laws during the general election of 2011. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has now called the date for the by-election. It will be held on May 13. Continue reading As Labrador by-election gets going, Liberals start with big lead
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The writ drops in Labrador with a surprising amount at stake
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced this morning that a by-election will be held in the federal riding of Labrador on May 13. The riding became vacant after Conservative MP Peter Penashue, then a member of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet, admitted that his campaign violated federal election finance laws in the May 2011 general election. Penashue, in that general election, won by a handful of votes and it was quite reasonable to assume that the extra illegal spending his campaign did in that general election could have made the difference.
Elections Canada is still investigating the over-spending and its investigation will be unaffected by the by-election. Moreover, Penashue is not avoiding any sanction he may face from Elections Canada by resigning and running again. That peril will still exist for Penashue regardless of the by-election and its outcome.
This by-election really won’t change a thing in the House of Commons. No matter who wins, the Conservatives will still have a majority; the NDP will still be the Official Opposition; and the Liberals will still be the third party. And yet, for a by-election that means so little in the big scheme of things (though obviously a big deal for the good people of the riding), there is a surprising amount of political capital at stake. For that reason, expect all three of those parties to be campaigning heavily to win. Some notes on what’s at stake …
Continue reading The writ drops in Labrador with a surprising amount at stake