Liberal fundraiser with justice minister may cross the line: Tory MP

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

A Conservative MP wants the federal ethics commissioner to look into Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s upcoming attendance at a $500-per-ticket private fundraiser in the Toronto offices of international law firm Torys LLP.

Billed as a “private reception” with Wilson-Raybould, the event on Thursday evening will be held in Torys’ space in the TD South Tower in downtown Toronto.

The fundraiser was organized by Torys partner Mitch Frazer, who said he arranged the event on his own initiative and stressed that it is not sanctioned by the firm.

“I’ve gone to deliberate lengths to make sure our firm is not connected to this,” Frazer said Tuesday.

“This is just me personally organizing the event because I believe in the work Justin Trudeau has been doing and I wanted to find a way to support the work.”

But Ontario Conservative MP John Brassard said Tuesday that Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson should look into the fundraiser, which he says appears to blur the lines of ethical conduct.

“This about money going into the Liberal Party of Canada coffers as result of fundraiser with lawyers who are dealing with the top lawyer in the country,” he said.

The Wilson-Raybould event comes as the Liberals’ counterparts in Kathleen Wynne’s Ontario government face scrutiny over their own fundraising practices with the private sector. Wynne has promised to overhaul the province’s election law to prohibit corporate and union donations.

Frazer, an expert in pension law, said the Liberal Party of Canada will tell the firm how much to invoice for rental of the space to ensure it is compliant with elections law. The firm often rents out space for charity events. He said he didn’t think many of his colleagues from Torys would attend.

Several of the firm’s members are currently registered to lobby the federal government, including senior partner John Tobin, who since 2010 has listed as lobbying the Justice department on taxation of mutual funds on behalf of client Invesco Trimark.

The lobbyist registry shows Torys partners and associates also lobby the government on behalf of investment firm AGF Management Limited, the Woodbridge Company, Gore Mutual Insurance, and Home Trust Company.

Liberal Party spokesman Braeden Caley said in an email that the party “fully complies with the Elections Act in all of its fundraising activity” and added that no one from Torys who lobbies the minister is expected to attend.

Frazer said he has not been in contact with Wilson-Raybould or her staff about the event.

The money raised will go the Liberal Party of Canada, not the minister’s riding association, he said.