Glover regrets post-event ‘negative publicity’ for Habitat

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This article was published 13/09/2021 (1102 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MANITOBA Progressive Conservative leadership hopeful Shelly Glover says she meant no harm launching her candidacy at a registered charity in violation of federal tax rules.

“It was never our intention to seek or imply an endorsement from Habitat (for Humanity Manitoba),” the former Conservative MP said of the Sept. 10 event in Winnipeg.

“What can I say? I regret the negative publicity that they got,” Glover said by phone late Monday. “I feel that it’s unfortunate.”

The former city police officer who identifies as a law-and-order candidate asked Habitat if she could hold her campaign event at its ReStore site (60 Archibald St.).

Federal tax guidelines from the Canada Revenue Agency state a “charity may not take part in an illegal activity or a partisan political activity,” and “a partisan political activity is one that involves direct or indirect support of, or opposition to, any political party or candidate for public office.”

On Saturday, the branch charity’s chief executive officer, Sandy Hopkins, issued a statement saying he regretted allowing Glover’s event to be held on Habitat property.

Hopkins said it was not his intention to imply an endorsement of Glover’s campaign by him or Habitat for Humanity. One of the charity’s trucks with Habitat signage was parked as a backdrop for her news conference.

Habitat for Humanity Manitoba builds homes for low-income working families to purchase through a no-money-down, interest-free mortgage.

Allowing Glover’s partisan political event to go forward in the charity’s parking lot was a serious error in judgment on his part, he said. “For that, I sincerely and deeply apologize.”

Glover, who served as the Manitoba regional minister and minister of heritage and official languages in prime minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet, said she at no point considered staging a political campaign launch there could harm Habitat in any way.

“I would never, ever, do anything to hurt them. I love Habitat,” she said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca