Brown's Biggest Benefactor Loses Law License

The largest individual contributor to Barrie MP Patrick Brown's federal campaigns has had his license to practice law revoked by the Law Society of Upper Canada. Here is the decision from the Law Society's web site:

Peter Brian Budd (1988), of the City of Toronto, was found to have engaged in conduct unbecoming a licensee for having been convicted of two Criminal Code charges, in that he did, with respect to each of two young persons, being in a position of trust or authority towards the young person, for a sexual purpose, touch directly the body of the young person, with a part of his body contrary to Section 153, Sub-section (1), clause (a) of the Criminal Code of Canada.

By Decision and Order dated December 17, 2009 the Hearing Panel ordered as follows:

1. The Lawyer's licence is revoked.
2. Counsel may make submissions on the matter of costs in writing, within 10 days of the date of the release of this order. Otherwise, there shall be no order as to costs.

(Counsel for the Society, Lisa Freeman / Counsel for the Lawyer, Janet Leiper)

According to an April 6, 2004 Canadian Press article, Budd was charged with 3 counts of sexual assault and 3 counts of sexual exploitation. On May 16, 2006 Budd was convicted on 2 of the sexual exploitation charges. He was given a 9-month custodial sentence. Budd's conviction was held up on appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal (October 22, 2007). Budd appealed to the Supreme Court, but that appeal was also dismissed.

Budd's donations to Brown's campaigns:

Budd Peter Jun. 25, 2004 1,000.00 (2004 election campaign)
Budd Peter Apr. 26, 2005 1,000.00 (2005 nomination campaign)
Budd Peter Dec. 30, 2005 2,000.00 (2006 election campaign)
Budd Peter Jan. 4, 2006 2,000.00 (2006 election campaign)

Budd also contributed to Brown's riding association in 2008:

PETER BUDD Jan. 31, 2008 833.50 (Barrie Conservative EDA)

*UPDATE* Budd contributed to Brown's riding association again in 2009:

PETER BUDD Aug. 13, 2009 236.50 (Barrie Conservative EDA)

Source: http://www.elections.ca

Home Renovation Tax Credit Confusion

Patrick Brown's latest ten-percenter (front, back) reminds his constituents of the upcoming deadline to qualify for the Home Renovation Tax Credit. It's too bad he's still misinforming them via his web site:

"For the next two years, a new Home Renovation Tax Credit will apply to the cost of labour and supplies, and can save Canadians up to $1350 when they improve their homes."
http://www.servingbarrie.com/EN/8344/93501

"For the next two years, the new home renovation tax credit will apply to the costs of labour and supplies."
http://www.servingbarrie.com/EN/8344/81401

The Home Renovation Tax Credit is a one-year temporary tax credit for the 2009 tax year. Only qualifying work performed and goods purchased in the one-year period between January 28, 2009 and February 1, 2010 are eligible.

RVH Expansion: Who's paying and who's just taking credit

On page 2 of Barrie MP Patrick Brown's Fall 2009 newsletter, under the heading GETTING RESULTS FOR BARRIE, there is a section titled Construction Begins on RVH Phase 1 Expansion. In this section there is an artist's rendering of the expanded hospital, a photo with the caption "MP Brown and members of RVH at the sod turning..." (Note there's no mention of the other government representatives in the photo.), and a description of the new facilities that the expansion will bring. The section also mentions the cost of the expansion: $400 million.

Politicians are seldom shy when it comes to being recognized for government spending, and Mr. Brown is no exception. In fact, Mr. Brown devoted the entire front page of his newsletter to tallying the federal government's contributions to local projects. One item you won't find among Mr. Brown's list of federal government largesse is a contribution to the cost of the RVH expansion. The lion's share of the hospital expansion project is being funded by the province, while the City of Barrie has committed $52.5 million. The County of Simcoe has promised to contribute $20 million, and $34 million has been raised through local fund-raising efforts. The only level of government not contributing to the cost of the project, it seems, is Mr. Brown's. That doesn't seem to have stopped Mr. Brown from using the taxpayer's funds to try to associate himself with the project.

In his communications, Mr. Brown likes to point to increases in transfers to the provinces for healthcare spending but fails to tell you that the increases are set out in a law that was passed before his government took office.

After the 2008 Hockey Night in Barrie fund-raiser, Mr. Brown sent out glossy full-colour newsletters in which he claimed that _he_ got the idea for the fund-raiser after attending charity hockey games in Brockville and Peterborough.

Excerpt from 2008 newsletter
© 2009 CC BY-SA 4.0

Brown fails to mention that a fund-raiser for the RVH featuring NHL players called Hockey Night in Barrie took place on November 19, 2004, long before he had attached his name to the event.¹ Brown himself participated in a hockey fund-raiser for the RVH dubbed "Go for the Goal" that was held at the Molson Centre more than two years before _his_ first Hockey Night in Barrie. <sup>2

1</sup> Pucks for Buck, Cheryl Browne, The Barrie Examiner, November 13, 2004, p. C2
² Royal Victoria Hospital fundraising takes centre ice, Nicki Cruickshank, The Barrie Examiner, April 15, 2006, p. A3

Form Letters to the Editor

A letter titled "Kudos to MP for pushing tobacco act" from registered lobbyist Aaron Levo was published in today's edition of The Barrie Examiner. In his letter Mr. Levo thanks Barrie MP Patrick Brown "for his hard work and support in passing Bill C-32 (Cracking Down on Tobacco Marketing Aimed at Youth Act)". Levo goes on to praise Brown saying "...MPs like Mr. Brown have demonstrated that Parliament can rise to the challenge and work in the best interest of all Canadians". What Examiner readers may not be aware of is that identical letters to the editors were sent by Mr. Levo to other local newspapers praising all the government MPs, except the chair, on the House of Commons Health Committee: Colin Carrie, Tim Uppal, Cathy McLeod, Patricia Davidson.

Let's examine the record. According to the House of Commons web site, the Health Committee held three meetings to discuss Bill C-32 on June 9, 11, and 16. According to the minutes and transcripts of those meetings, Patrick Brown attended only two of the three meetings, and only spoke at one of the two meetings he attended, asking a couple questions in the last few minutes of the two-hour meeting. Though Mr. Brown could not apparently find time to attend the June 11 meeting, which took place between 3:34pm and 5:31pm, he did find time that evening to attend a fundraiser for a Conservative nomination candidate in Brampton.

The parliamentary record also shows that Mr. Brown did not participate in any of the debates on Bill C-32 which took place in the House of Commons on June 2, 3, and 17. Mr. Brown did make a statement which made reference to Bill C-32 on June 1.

The letter from Mr. Levo makes no mention of the fact that a private member's bill, Bill C-566, which had aims similar to Bill C-32, was introduced into the House of Commons almost a year prior by an opposition MP, but it died when Mr. Harper called an election in 2008.