Angry in the Great White North

Navdeep Bains, the Liberal MP for the Ontario riding of Mississauga-Brampon South, has submitted a report in which 76 donors are listed.  The report was prepared on January 2, 2009, two-and-a-half months after the election, and one-and-a-half months ahead of the deadline for filing.

Filing early to me suggests that Navdeep Bains had all the information needed, and that there was not point in delaying filing the return.  I'm not sure, but presumably the earlier you file, the earlier you get your rebate from Elections Canada.

And yet Navdeep Bains' return seems half-baked.  It certainly could have benefited from some extra time to fill it out better, time that Navdeep Bains had.

The actual donations lists 76 donors, but no amounts are listed for any of the names:

Farther down, Navdeep Bains reports 76 donors of amount of $200 or less.  That accounts for the 76 names, but then something else doesn't add up.  Take a look at the numbers:

So Navdeep Bains is not reporting the amounts individually because these people donated $200 or less.  He declares that he received no money from donations that were greater than $200.  According to the Canada Elections Act, no details are required for people who donated $200 or less:

451. (1) The official agent of a candidate shall provide the Chief Electoral Officer with the following in respect of an election:

(h) the name and address of each contributor who made contributions of a total amount of more than $200 to the candidate, that total amount, as well as the amount of each such contribution and the date on which it was received by the candidate;

But then he provides that information anyway. 

That was rather pointless.

More curious is the amount collected.  In order to have gathered together $44,175.00 in donations from 76 people, the average size of the donation would have to be $581.25, well in excess of $200.  In fact, 76 people donating $200 each could only have donated a total of $15,200.

I expect Navdeep Bains will be getting a letter from the Chief Electoral Officer requesting a correction (if one hasn't been sent already, though the website doesn't indicate that the data has been reviewed).  Hopefully Elections Canada will hold up the rebate cheque until Navdeep Bains files a report that makes a minimum amount of sense.