Conservative MP Mark Adler invited lobbyists to fundraiser
Conservative MP Mark Adler invited dozens of lobbyists to a fundraiser last year, including many who lobbied him directly in relation to his work on the finance committee, despite guidelines from the ethics commissioner that say MPs should not ask for money from those they meet in their official capacity.
The names of about 30 registered lobbyists appear as donors on the annual return of the York Centre Conservative riding association. Each received a tax receipt for $291, the donation portion of a $400 ticket for a cocktail reception Adler held at the elite Albany Club in downtown Toronto on Feb. 20, 2013.
In opposition, Prime Minister Stephen Harper often attacked the Liberal government for close ties between lobbyists and officials, and the government’s landmark accountability act established tougher rules for them, but critics complain that top Tory lobbyists enjoy privileged access to political decision makers.
One person who bought a ticket — Ian Russell, of the Investment Industry Association of Canada — said Adler asked him to attend the fundraiser after a Conservative financial services caucus on Parliament Hill. “At the end of it, we were all walking out shaking hands and he said, well, Ian, I have this event,” Russell said in an interview this week. “It would be nice if you could buy a ticket for it.”
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Conservative+invited+lobbyists+fundraiser/9952070/story.html
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