Mounties sought to charge Julie Couillard with illegal lobbying

[CHIMO]

The RCMP wanted to lay charges of illegal lobbying against Julie Couillard last year, but federal prosecutors balked and closed the file on Conservative MP Maxime Bernier’s ex-girlfriend, The Globe and Mail has learned.

The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying supported laying charges, but failed to persuade the Public Prosecution Service of Canada of the merits of the Mounties’ case, sources said.

To justify their decision, federal prosecutors worried that judge would throw the charges out because a new Lobbying Act was introduced in 2008, after the alleged infractions occurred.

The decision raises fresh questions about the effectiveness of the Conservative Party’s promised crackdown on the shadowy world of lobbyists. Legal experts say that this could mean all cases of unregistered lobbying that occurred within the first two years of the Harper government are already off-limits to law-enforcement authorities.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/mounties-sought-to-charge-julie-couillard-with-illegal-lobbying/article1869343/