On belated disclosure

Leftdog highlights some of the issues with the Sask Party's Enterprise Club emerging from the revelation that one of its $1,000 donations was paid for by St. Peter's College. But there looks to be plenty of reason for concern with some parts of the story which haven't yet been covered in detail:

It came to light last week that the former CEO of two Humboldt-area colleges attempting a now-dead merger had charged the $1,000 political contribution to his expenses.
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(Frank Quennell) also noted the 2009 purchase of the membership did not appear on that year's Sask. Party financial statements. The party said the membership could have been for 2010 and would not appear until the release of financial statements for the year.

So what's wrong with that picture? Under Saskatchewan's Election Act, 1996, provincial parties are required to report all money in the year in which it is received, including contributions, the proceeds of merchandise and other sales, and "all other income and receipts from any source". So the statement that a membership was intended to be for 2010 wouldn't seem to affect a party's obligation to disclose having received money in 2009.

And there's an obvious reason why that's the case. After all, it would make a mockery of political disclosure rules if supporters could make a donation which is available for the party's use immediately, but is only reported at some later date when a membership takes effect. ("Buy a $5 million 'Super Deluxe Platinum Executive Membership' for the 2045 fiscal year today! No need to report the source of the money until then!")

So the explanation we've heard so far as to why Glen Kobussen's Enterprise Club membership was omitted from the Sask Party's financial disclosure forms doesn't hold water. And if the Sask Party makes a general practice of taking in money in the present to be disclosed only in some future year, then it's well worth wondering how many more contributions are similarly hidden in the party's books.