Liberal MP Jaimie Battiste has been fined $200 by the Commissioner of Elections for knowingly submitting a false campaign return from the 2019 federal election — an offence that once sent a former Conservative MP to jail.The commissioner’s office said Battiste, who represents Cape Breton–Canso, N.S., and serves as parliamentary secretary for Crown-indigenous relations, cooperated with investigators and that “personal circumstances” were taken into account when determining the penalty. Blacklock's Reporter says details of those circumstances were not disclosed.An investigation found Battiste’s signed election return “contained false and misleading information” about campaign spending and contributions. He was cited for four separate breaches of the Elections Act, including filing an inaccurate financial declaration that he “knew or ought reasonably to have known to be false.”.Records showed Battiste made an illegal $4,051 donation to his own campaign, deposited another $8,051 contribution into his personal bank account before reporting it, and charged $722 in expenses on his personal credit card. The commissioner levied fines totaling $600 across the offences, with $200 applied to the false return charge.Battiste has not commented publicly on the ruling.The outcome contrasts sharply with the case of former Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro, who in 2016 was fined $10,000 and served 30 days in jail for similar election violations. .The commissioner’s spokesperson, Michelle Laliberté, said “every situation is unique” and declined to draw comparisons.Del Mastro later described his time in segregation as “the craziest place on earth,” arguing he was harshly punished for what he called a “regulatory offence.”Battiste, meanwhile, remains in caucus and continues to serve as a senior member of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal team.
