Reg Bowers says he 'probably' faces charges under Elections Act

The newest member of the Happy Valley-Goose Bay town council acknowledgedFriday he will "probably" face charges under the Canada Elections Act for his role in former Labrador MP Peter Penashue's2011 election campaign.

Reg Bowers received 742 votes Thursday during a byelection in the town, easily defeating the only other candidate, Tina Holden, who received the support of 178 voters.

• Penashue's former agent 'unintentionally' accepted corporate donation

Bowers was thecampaign manager and official agent forPenashue, who resigned as a federal Conservative MP in March 2013 amid a cloud of controversy.

Penashue'scampaign accepted a corporate donation,which is illegal under Canadian law.

Penashuepointed the finger at Bowers for the wrongdoing, saying his campaign manager was inexperienced.

Penashueresigned in order to run in abyelection, but was defeated by Liberal Yvonne Jones, the current MP for Labrador.

Bowers said the campaign issueis still being reviewed by the Commissioner of Canada Elections, though he's not sure of the status any investigation.

When asked during anFridaywith Labrador Morning if he might face charges, Bowers replied,"Probably. I don't know. It's been well over a year ago since I even heard anything. And they may just drop it altogether."

The controversy brought an untimely end toPenashue'spolitical career, andBowers later resignedfrom a position with the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board.

Bowers says he was co-operative

Bowers seemed surprised during Friday's interview that the matter has not yet been concluded.

"During that campaign Ionly put in 71 deposits and wrote 121 cheques. And I voluntarily gave the whole information to Elections Canada. I didn't even have to do it. But I did it.

They found, probably, that it was errors in judgment. That's happened every day of the week. So that's going to happen on council, too. I'm not going to say I'm going to be perfect. To do that I would walk on water.- Reg Bowers

"So they've been four years at it and they haven't determined if anything was broken or if there was a non-compliance or what," he said.

Bowers described his mistake during the Penashue campaign as an unintentional "error in judgment."

When asked if residents of Happy Valley-Goose Bay should have confidence in his abilities as a town councilllor, Bowers said he's human, and will make mistakes.

"I'm not going to intentionally go out and do anything illegal. I didn't do it during the campaign and they have never found that during all the investigation.

"They found, probably, that [they were]errors in judgment. That's happened every day of the week. So that's going to happen on council, too. I'm not going to say I'm going to be perfect. To do that I would walk on water," he said.

"I'm not going to go and sit in the corner and not live a full life because some bureaucrat in Ottawa is making a decision."