TOP MEDIA EXECUTIVES DONATED TO TORY HERITAGE MINISTER, DOCUMENTS SHOW Jennifer Ditchburn – Canadian Press Heritage Minister Bev Oda's riding association declared donations from seven top broadcasting executives last year, some of whom have major policy issues before the department and federal regulators.
The donations came from the likes of Astral Media chairman Andre Bureau and Rogers Radio CEO Gary Miles. The biggest contribution, $2,500, came from CanWest Global Communications president Leonard Asper two days after the last election.
Oda’s department is responsible for overseeing crucial policies that affect large media companies.
In the last year, the CRTC has undertaken reviews on commercial radio policy and on broadcasting technologies.
CRTC regulators are also studying CanWest's takeover bid for Alliance Atlantis, as well as Astral's takeover of Standard Radio and Bell Globemedia's swallowing of CHUM Ltd.
The CRTC is an arms-length agency, but cabinet has the power to overturn its decisions.
Last November, Oda was forced to cancel a fundraiser organized by a CanWest executive after criticism in the House of Commons. At the time, the Conservative government was keen to show its commitment to accountability - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he would end the influence of corporations in political financing.
The government said at the time that cheques from donors to the fundraiser had been returned.
But financial reports recently submitted to Elections Canada from Oda's riding association show no evidence of any returned donations.
A spokesman for Oda said late Thursday that a clerical error was made by the riding association and actions is being taken to immediately report the returned cheques to Elections Canada.
Two media executives - Gary Miles of Rogers Media and Lisa de Wilde of TV Ontario - confirmed donations they had made for the fundraiser had been returned.
Oda's spokesman could not confirm which reported donations were related to the fundraiser and which were made independently of the event.
NDP MP Charlie Angus pressed Oda for answers Thursday.
"Now we find out that a whole series of cheques from last October were cashed and the list reads like a who's who of the broadcast industry," Angus said.
"It is the Pinocchio principle. The more she talks, the worse it gets."
Personal donations under $1,000 are legal under current political financing rules. But the appropriateness of receiving donations from people directly involved in lobbying one's department or committee has been under more scrutiny in recent years. Sarmite Bulte, the former Liberal chairwoman of the Heritage committee, was criticized by the NDP and pro-Conservative bloggers for a fundraiser organized by entertainment executives during the last election campaign. She was later defeated.
Part of the challenge for Oda is her large roster of friends from the broadcasting world, where she was a fixture for most of her career.
Oda was once a commissioner at the CRTC and worked at TV Ontario and CTV.
De Wilde and others describe her as a longtime friend.
Donations made to Oda's association from top executives included:
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