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NDP candidate and assistant receive absolute discharge

Co-accused in Elections Act case says failure to file documents by the prescribed deadline was not intentional

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Former NDP candidate Palluq Susan Enuaraq and her official agent Elisapee Sheutiapik were found guilty of failing to file documents from their 2000 federal election campaign after pleading guilty to three Election Act charges on April 9 in Nunavut Court of Justice.

The absolute discharge handed down by judge Beverly Browne means neither woman receives a criminal record. The missing paperwork, listing campaign contributions, election spending and unused tax receipt forms from the Nov. 27, 2000, election, were due on March 27, 2001 — four months after voters went to the polls.

The documents were not filed until the fall of 2001, by which time Elections Canada had started proceedings to lay the charges. The documents were recently accepted and approved by an auditor, the court heard.

In a letter filed with the Nunavut Court of Justice on April 8, Enuaraq accepted responsibility for the late filing. She attributed her failure to comply with the rules as inexperience. She apologized about the mix up to Sheutiapik, with whom she remains friends.

"There are many things I could have done to alleviate the situation.... I would like to apologize to all the people who voted for me and to all those [who] supported me financially and through moral support," the letter says.

Defence lawyer Andy Mahar called the unfiled documents an inadvertent oversight.

"I want it clear there was no wrongdoing. This wasn’t fraud. There was not a cover up, it was simply a lack of attention," Mahar told the court.

Enuaraq finished second in the last federal election. Her social democratic platform was based on housing, health and education. Liberal candidate Nancy Karetak-Lindell won the election in a landslide victory with 68 per cent of the votes.

Enuaraq, an Akitsiraq law school student, called the charges an "ordeal," in the letter.

Equally distressing, Enuaraq wrote, was having her name and the charges published in a newspaper.

"Sometimes that kind of punishment is far beyond what the court can do," said Judge Beverly Browne, when handing down the ruling.

The NDP headquarters has yet to release Enuaraq’s campaign documents. The files state who donated money to the campaign, how much was donated and how the money was spent.

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