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| Stewart Braddick |
I learned that this guy worked for Gordon Campbell, then the leader of the official Opposition in BC. Campbell led the BC Liberals which was in fact a conservative party. Braddick worked in Caucus Communications, likely making 70 to 80 grand a year. In 2007 he was the mastermind behind a Liberal caucus householder that was extremely partisan the likes of which had never been done before, even in BC's hyper partisan political atmosphere.
Braddick resigned after the Auditor General of BC found the householder to be a misuse of Taxpayers money, almost one million dollars. The scandal went even deeper than that. Braddick personally chose Jan-Paul Shason's company to print the householder, the owner of Gastown Printers at the time and a very close friend and political ally of Gordon Campbell. Braddick also paid a consulting fee from Caucus funds to Greg Lyle, owner of Navigator in Toronto. Lyle was paid $5,000 to provide advice for the householder. Lyle subsequently went on to work for the Manitoba Conservative government of Gary Filman.
Braddick eventually ended up working for Ontario Conservative Premier Mike Harris.
Here is an excerpt from question period where Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton asks the Premier about using taxpayers money to pay the salary of Stewart Braddick....
The Ontario Conservative Premier saw nothing wrong in hiring a person that was found to have misspent one million taxpayers dollars for partisan gain according to the Premier's statement.STEWART BRADDICK
Mr Howard Hampton (Rainy River): I have a question again for the Premier, and I would say to the Premier it's remarkable how many "excepts" and "maybes" and weasel words he uses when he talks about education funding. I want to ask the Premier about the new employee in his office, one Stewart Braddick, who you've hired as your director of organization. We know Mr Braddick worked for one Brian Mulroney and then was hired by the BC Liberal leader, Gordon Campbell, but he was forced to resign from his job in the BC Liberal caucus because it was found by the Auditor General in British Columbia that he had misspent $1 million of taxpayers' money. He had used $1 million of taxpayers' money to fund a partisan political piece of mail for the Liberal Party in British Columbia. He was forced to resign because of this abuse. Premier, why are you hiring someone who abused the public purse to the tune of $1 million?Interjections.
The Speaker (Hon Chris Stockwell): Order. The third party, come to order.
Hon Michael D. Harris (Premier): The leader raises a question of an employee we have hired, somebody who has an outstanding record in Manitoba, British Columbia, Ontario, at the national level as well. In fact, he even worked for our good friend Jean Charest in the last campaign. However, I think the issue you raise is that while he was working for the Liberal leader in British Columbia -- and yes, Stew Braddick had disclosed to us that he was employed there when a direct mail campaign that had the approval of the caucus and of the leader, signed by the Liberal leader at the time, and a piece of literature I might say a little milder than the stuff I see you and the Liberals sending out in Ontario -- the leader acknowledged as well that he had made a political decision to send the material in its form. There were questions raised about that mailout and Mr Braddick, to save the leader and the party from further embarrassment, resigned his position. That kind of honour is the kind we respect in Ontario.Interjections.
The Speaker: Supplementary.
Mr Hampton: Premier, it's a remarkable and valiant effort you put forward, but the Auditor General of British Columbia was asked to investigate the situation. Yes, he said that the BC Liberal Party had misused its privileges, but then the Auditor General specifically found that Stewart Braddick, the person you have now hired, had misused $1 million of taxpayers' money. I simply ask you this: What job do you have in your office that is so important that you have to hire somebody who lost his job in British Columbia because he misused $1 million of taxpayers' money and the Auditor General of that province found it to be so? What job do you have in your office that is so important that you have to hire someone like that?
Mr John R. Baird (Nepean): What about this?
The Speaker: Member for Nepean, that's out of order. Thank you. Premier.
Hon Mr Harris: I think his job description is pretty straightforward and I believe appropriate. If you quote from the Auditor General of British Columbia, it was on the content of a Liberal mailing, including material of a partisan political nature, and some of the mailings were not personally addressed. In other words, they were, "Dear Householder." You may want to check some of your mailings recently, leader of the third party, and you may want to be very careful in consulting a lawyer before you repeat the accusations outside the House that you made in here.
Mr Hampton: I will repeat the claim. The Auditor General of British Columbia found that there was a $1-million misuse of taxpayers' money and he identified the person you have now hired in your office, Stewart Braddick, as the person principally responsible. If the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party wants to hire someone to do the kind of partisan dirty tricks that Mr Braddick is identified with, the Ontario Conservative Party can do that. But Premier, I want to ask you: Can you tell us why the taxpayers of Ontario should be paying the salary of someone like Stewart Braddick, who has been identified with this $1-million misuse of public funds in British Columbia? Why should the taxpayers of Ontario pay this person's salary so he can work in your office?1450
Hon Mr Harris: I'm not sure the question is worthy of an answer. When it comes to dirty tricks, nobody takes a back seat to the NDP of Ontario: nobody, no party, no individual. The kind of accusations that you are making in this Legislature are inappropriate and inaccurate. They are wrong and I invite him to step outside and repeat them. Interjections.
The Speaker: Order. Leader of the third party, you had a point of order?
Mr Hampton: On a point of privilege, Speaker: I put it to the Premier: You explain why taxpayers should pay this person's salary. Interjections.
Mr Baird: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I wonder if you can tell me whether it's in order that the NDP sent posters --
The Speaker: Member for Nepean, that's not in order.
Mr Braddick also raised the wrath of evangelicals when as a co-oners of navigator they were paid $750,000 to build a campaign to attract new students to the Catholic school System. Lifesite, a religious right wing group took exception to the hiring of Navigator. Their concern was that both Jamie Watt and Stewart Braddick were well know homosexual activists.
Interestingly Jamie Watt was forced to resign his job with Premier Harris after it was discovered Watt was guilty of criminal fraud over $19,000.
Braddick is obviously good at what he does. He is extremely well connected to Conservative powers. He is in fact key to the Conservative Party's success. His company is the holder of all the information the Conservatives collect on voters. At least two key members of the Conservative party have shown they are willing to commit fraud and or abuse taxpayer dollars for political gain.
The link is not just business between the Conservative Party of Canada and RMG. It is a marriage of thought, ideas and they both know where the bodies are. One can not succeed without the other.
To further mystify this unholy alliance between Conservatives and Watt and Braddick, both are gay. I wonder how that informations sits with the Alberta Tories. Remember that when you recall all those Conservative MPs rallying people to vote against gay rights. The guys that helped them do it were queer mercenaries.
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