The complaint centres on the fact the lobby group and the Conservatives have both done business with an advertising firm co-founded by Hamish Marshall, who is Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s campaign manager,” Observer reports. “These connections, along with revelations about three events this past spring involving Scheer and oil industry executives, ‘point to a relationship of collaboration and support’ that would give Côté ‘reasonable grounds to investigate,’ the complaint reads.”
CAPP registered with Elections Canada as a third-party advertiser for this year’s campaign, Observer notes, and paid Marshall’s agency more than $15,000 for political ads. The Globe and Mail reported last week that the firm also worked for the Conservative Party, where a spokesperson said operatives “rigorously” respect the terms of Marshall’s leave of absence from the firm.