CPoC Convention Gate - The Linda Toews Cover-up Attempt

Vancouver Sun reporter Peter O'Neil reported Tuesday July 11th that CPoC official spokesperson Mike Donison stated that Linda Toews, who reported in 2004 that all Alberta CPoC EDAs were cheque-swapping, was not an employee of the CPoC but he would not say what her status with the party was.

As a matter of fact, in Dec 2004 Linda Toews was her riding association president and also on the CPoC constitutional development committee. She ran for the CPoC national council at the 2005 conservative convention in Montreal and had been a party organizer for years.

In her own words in 2004, " I attend Presidents meetings in both northern and southern Alberta on a regular basis. I recently organised and chaired an all Alberta Presidents’ meeting providing the opportunity for Presidents and board members to meet with Councillors and guests to become informed on party matters and to exchange information and ideas. I am also the Chair of the Alberta Joint Regional Policy Conference and Chair of the Conference Organising Committee.

As a constituency President Linda Toews was the official spokesperson for her riding and a spokesperson for the CPoC. She was in a position to know what she was saying and had the authority to say what had been approved. She wrote, "I can tell you that all EDAs in Alberta are doing the cheque-swap," the practice is "allowable."

If true, Linda Toews' statement provides evidence of the allegation of forethought and intent to circumvent election act and Canadian tax laws.

More on CPoC Con-gate cover-up attempts.



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From Southern Alberta Constituency Council
Dec 21, 2004

Following is a summary of what action the Constituency Councils are taking in Alberta in regards to obtaining a better Party constitution for this Party.

The draft Conservative Party constitution has been approved by Interim Council and released to ridings for review and submission of proposed amendments, members and riding constitution/policy committees can finally participate in the process and help define and shape their Party. The constitution of a political party is the ultimate property of its members. So, this is one of the few opportunities individual members will have a say in how the Conservative Party governs itself following the March 2005 Founding Convention in Montreal.

Since the time and notice constraints placed on the constitutional amendment process are exceedingly limited, most ridings will only be able to deal with the constitution at the Committee and/or Board level. As trustees for the members in your ridings, please be inclusive of the membership in your deliberations and, where feasible, actively solicit their input and ideas.

Careful reading of the rules governing submission of constitutional amendments reveals that EDAs are required to provide at least 14 days notice of any EDA general meeting at which constitutional amendments are to be discussed (5 days notice for Board meetings). Moreover, the proposed wording of any amendment must be provided with such notice of meeting and there cannot be any substantive change to the wording of such proposed amendment when it is approved by EDA members/Board and submitted to the Executive Director of the Conservative Party.

Effectively, EDAs must issue the notice of meeting (together with any proposed amendments) no later than Jan 24th, 2005 for any meeting held on Feb 7th, 2005 – the last possible date (on this date, such approval would need to be sent to Party HQ no later than 7:59 pm MST). Since most EDAs will require an additional week or two to deal with the constitution, they will need to send out their meeting notices sometime in the first half of January.

It is noted that many ridings have already sent out notice to their membership regarding their January DSMs. The timing surrounding the release of the “Rules and Procedures for Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the Conservative Party of Canada” is perhaps best characterised as “unfortunate”.

In Alberta, Presidents have agreed to hold a provincial constitutional conference & meeting in Red Deer in February (similar to their November policy conference) for the purpose of collaborating on proposed constitutional amendments and strategy for the March Founding Convention. Early February was chosen since most ridings are holding AGMs and DSMs each weekend throughout January. Since the final date for receipt of proposed constitutional amendments from EDAs is 11:59 pm (EST) Feb 7th, this effectively limits the meeting to one in which only final proposals from EDAs will be coordinated and approved by participating EDAs.

The constitutional amendment process necessitates a concentrated and coordinated effort over the next 3 weeks to examine the draft constitution in detail, identify & prioritize critical amendments and to communicate these to EDA Presidents. Already, concerns and comments are being received from EDA members and Presidents across Canada. Their input needs to be integrated with the common issues and concerns expressed by Alberta EDA Presidents over the past 7-8 months so that a balanced, realistic and attainable set of amendment proposals are approved and supported by as many Alberta ridings as possible. In addition, we will need to coordinate with ridings in BC and other provinces to meet the threshold required to pass the amendment vetting process.

This is where it may be worthwhile for each province (or regional council) to follow BC’s lead and designate a constitutional committee (2-3 Presidents) to coordinate these activities between now and the Convention. In Southern Alberta, Linda Toews, Walter Wakula and Jim Stevenson have already been tasked to this role. (Unfortunately – or is it fortunately? – Jim Stevenson will be vacationing “Down Under” from Christmas Eve until the 3rd week of January – so we can’t avail ourselves of Jim’s wisdom during much of this period). I am, however, quite certain there are at least one or two other individuals whose input would be welcome – time permitting – (are you listening Glenn Solomon?) and there will be efforts made to coordinate communications for this group.

The Southern Alberta Constituency Council is getting ready to embark on this constitutional process immediately by convening a “constitutional sub-committee” next week at a mutually convenient time and location (Wed or Thurs afternoon/evening?). By sharing this email with many other Presidents outside Alberta, we will also begin the necessary liaison required to maximize the odds of getting amendments accepted and onto the convention floor in March.

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From: Linda Toews

For some weeks now, people have been talking to me about running for National Council in Alberta. They have quoted my record on communication, inclusiveness, organisation, accessibility and responsiveness. Please consider this my official announcement that I will be seeking election at the March Convention in Montreal as one of Alberta’s two National Councillors.

It is my belief that the Conservative Party needs to continue the democratic traditions of both legacy parties, namely that the members' views are critical, there must be communication - in both directions, there must be accountability at all levels, and we must work together toward our common goal. Councillors need to hear and heed the wishes of the members. Councillors need to listen to those who have elected them, and to put forward those views, and to communicate with members what is happening in the Party, and why. In order to best do this, a Councillor must attend provincial, regional and local EDA meetings, and must be available to the general membership for questions or comments. Councillors must also be accountable to the members for the actions they take on their behalf. We need to be transparent and open with our members in order to be a truly democratic Party.

It is also my belief that we need to work together to become a stronger Party. Under our Leader, Stephen Harper, our caucus has become a strong working team. We need to provide opportunities for our members to work together, to share information and exchange ideas, and to communicate more with each other in order that we may also become a strong working team. Working together allows us to use each other’s knowledge and expertise to strengthen our ridings and the Party as a whole. We need to take full advantage of our shared expertise so that our combined strength will enable the Conservative Party to reach its full potential and convince Canadians that we should form the next government.

I have extensive experience in federal political parties and am a strong supporter of our Conservative Party. Communications and organisation are two of my strengths. I chaired many founding meetings in Alberta and currently serve as the President of Red Deer Electoral District Association. I acted as Chief Returning Officer for most of the more contentious nomination meetings in Alberta in the last election and for the current provincial election, and provided assistance or information for a number of other nomination meetings. I attend Presidents meetings in both northern and southern Alberta on a regular basis. I recently organised and chaired an all Alberta Presidents’ meeting providing the opportunity for Presidents and board members to meet with Councillors and guests to become informed on party matters and to exchange information and ideas. I am also the Chair of the Alberta Joint Regional Policy Conference and Chair of the Conference Organising Committee. My e-mail list, Conservative E-Info, is widely distributed to members keeping recipients informed as to Party news and other items of interest.

In the former Canadian Alliance and Reform parties I served as the southern Alberta Organiser for seven years, assisting constituencies with all election readiness needs including constituency development, nomination process and meetings, and regularly attending local, regional and provincial meetings. I organised and chaired regional and local election readiness seminars. I also organised and participated in election readiness sessions at Regional Conferences in conjunction with the national election readiness team. I was part of the organising committee of all the Reform and Canadian Alliance Alberta Regional Conferences. I organised All-Alberta Presidents' meetings, always including Councillors, Presidents, and appropriate guests and board members. I also acted as Chief Returning Officer for many nomination meetings for Reform / Canadian Alliance in the 2000 and Spring 2003 nomination meetings.

We need to encourage all opportunities for our members to communicate with each other to exchange knowledge and ideas, and work together for a stronger, more effective Conservative Party. Unity comes through working together.

I am excited about the opportunity of our Conservative Party to take us forward to form the next - majority - government of Canada. To assist our Party in doing so, we need strong Councillors who will communicate with and be accountable to the members, and actively move our Party forward by using the best of our experience from both legacy parties and our collective enthusiasm to put forward a strong, united party. We need to demonstrate to Canadians that we are capable of governing ourselves as an accountable, democratic Party before they will trust in us to run the government of Canada. Please join with me in helping to ensure our Party’s success.

I would be pleased to discuss my views and yours, to attend any EDA meetings you would like me to attend and to meet with your convention delegates when they are selected. I live near Red Deer, usually considered to be the mid-point in the province so can easily travel in either direction.

Please feel free to contact me at any time, and to share this email with anyone you feel may be interested.

I look forward to talking with you.

Linda Toews
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Innisfail, AB XXXXX
Phone: (xXx) xx-xxxx

Fax: (xxx) xxx-xxxx

E-mail : xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx

(personal contact information redacted)


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Linda running for National Council - from Free Dominion Website thread:

(click on image to enlarge)