Hedy Fry nomination scrap has tempers at a boil

You must draw limits in your political commitment, otherwise you become uncivilized.

— former Liberal prime minister Lester B. Pearson, 1968

A series of alleged "dirty tricks", some of which broke federal Liberal party rules, may have saved member of Parliament Hedy Fry from losing her nomination as the candidate for Vancouver Centre in an extremely close and controversial vote last month.

The allegations include the use of backdated membership forms, the party denying one candidate official approval until two days before the nomination (which denied him access to the membership list and bulk membership forms), scheduling the meeting on a religious holiday, spreading smear rumours about a candidate, bussing in foreign ESL students to vote, and a Fry supporter paying the membership fee for at least one new member.

The March 21 vote saw Fry win on the second ballot over Taleeb Noormohamed and former Vancouver city councillor Lynne Kennedy. Party officials never released the numbers, but sources say Fry won only by about 26 of the more than 900 votes cast.

Noormohamed supporter David McCann says a Fry backer or backers were able to obtain membership sign-up forms that were date-stamped in advance of their submission to the party office. That meant new members could be signed up long past the cutoff-date requirement that a person join the Liberal party at least two weeks before the nomination to be eligible to vote.

Kennedy told the Straight she had serious concerns about the nomination process. "I do believe the process should be cleaned up, in fairness to the electorate," she said. "I was told clearly that they [the party] were going to do everything they could to protect Hedy. No one even gave me proper notice of the nomination meeting."

In addition, McCann said that 44 of Noormohamed's backers were denied a vote at the meeting, and Kennedy said that about 90 South Korean students who were unable to speak English but who were Fry supporters did cast ballots after showing memberships, passports, and utility bills to confirm residency in the riding.

"If you're here as a language student for four months, why should you be allowed to vote?" Kennedy asked.

And the meeting was scheduled on Noruz, the Persian New Year, one of the holiest days for the Ismaili religion. Noormohamed is an Ismaili, and he signed up many members from his community.

McCann was a Liberal party member for 40 years until he quit the party in disgust over the Vancouver Centre nomination "dirty tricks". McCann, who owns a Vancouver art gallery, is not only a former membership chair in the Vancouver Quadra riding but also belonged to the exclusive Laurier Club, a group of Liberal members who give $1,000 annually to the party.

"Some people with dubious backgrounds are in charge of the Liberal party in B.C.," he said in an interview with the Georgia Straight. "Paul Martin talks about the democratic deficit. The democratic deficit starts in the party that elected him leader."

The Liberal Party of Canada's B.C. office was the only place the membership forms could be date-stamped, meaning somebody in authority allowed the rules to be broken, McCann charged.

"Someone came by my office with membership forms and they were already date-stamped by the party office, as if they had already been received," McCann said. "What it means is that they can hand them in the day before the nomination meeting. This person got them from a strong supporter of Hedy Fry."

But Mark Marissen, Liberal Party of Canada B.C. campaign chair, said no formal or informal complaints were received from any candidate.

"There was some talk of this, but it proved not to be the case. We do not believe it took place, and there were no complaints to the party," he said in a phone interview.

Earlier in the campaign, a newly signed-up Liberal claimed that a Fry supporter had paid for his $10 membership, which is against both party rules and the Canada Elections Act.

Jason Ardiel signed a statutory declaration saying that Fry asked him to join the party on February 23 and said someone would pay for him. Fry told the Vancouver Sun on March 13 that she didn't remember the conversation, and she denied breaking any rules.

McCann also said there was a smear campaign against Noormohamed. "I heard all those rumours and felt it was appalling," he said.

Interestingly, I received an anonymous voice mail--one day after the nomination meeting--making allegations against Noormohamed, indicating how nasty the campaign was.

Noormohamed himself was reluctant to criticize the party or the process.

"The Liberal party I believe in is the Liberal party that follows a democratic process," Noormohamed said in an interview with the Straight. "I have no choice but to believe it was a fair process and the outcome was fair."

Adding to the Vancouver Centre controversy is the appointment by Elections Canada of Joyce Bornman as returning officer for the riding. Bornman is the mother of Erik Bornman, until recently an executive member of the Liberal Party of Canada in B.C., and Erik's brother Roy (an assistant to federal Liberal cabinet minister David Anderson), who actively supported Fry's nomination, sources say. She has also been an active party member.

Erik Bornman, it should be noted, says he has been told by special prosecutor Bill Berardino that he is not under criminal investigation following a police search of his home in connection with warrants executed at the B.C. legislature last December.

Disclosure: I endorsed the candidacy of Simon Fraser University professor Kennedy Stewart for the NDP nomination in Vancouver Centre.

Bill Tieleman is a political commentator Thursdays on CBC TV's Canada Now and regularly on CBC Radio One's Early Edition. E-mail him at weststar@telus.net.