TORONTO – The provincial secretary for Ontario’s NDP has sent a letter to Elections Ontario asking the Chief Electoral Officer to investigate the campaign expenses of MPP Ross Romano (Sault Ste Marie).

The letter follows a report from the Globe and Mail that two payments made to Romano’s by-election campaign were above the allowable limit according to the Election Finances Act. Romano himself calls the issue “concerning.”

The following is the letter sent to the Chief Electoral Officer;

Dear Greg Essensa,

I am writing to you today to ask that you review donations and campaign expenses associated with the 2017 by-election campaign of MPP Ross Romano the Progressive Conservative candidate for Sault Ste. Marie.

On Monday April 22nd, the Globe and Mail reported that two payments, one of $5,000 and one of $2,000 were made to individuals for work on MPP Romano’s campaign. These payments were made through a third party, identified by the Globe as Gursharan “Bobby” Sidhu.

According to the Election Finances Act, donations of either amount would have been well over the allowable limit of $1,200. Additionally, if these were payments made to staff on the campaign, they should have been disclosed by MPP Romano as campaign expenses.

MPP Romano has himself stated that the circumstances surrounding these payments are “concerning”, and so I believe it is all the more important for you to act swiftly to determine why neither payment was accounted for in any official way.

I have attached the relevant article for your review.

Sincerely,

Lucy Watson