Conservative party taking shots from both sides of nomination debate

Full article at canada.com

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Conservative party officials are finding they're damned if they do and damned if they don't provide some sort of shelter to incumbent MPs from challenges to their nominations. Both sitting Members of Parliament and the people that want to fight them for the right to run in the next election say they're getting a raw deal under party rules.
For Class of 2006 Tory MPs such as B.C.'s Colin Mayes and Alberta's Mike Lake, it seems unduly arduous to go through a nomination battle just seven months after they won their seats. In both cases, they're fighting challengers they beat the last time. Mayes said he's gone "flat out" since last November, getting nominated, fighting an election, getting oriented on Parliament Hill and then representing his riding. "It's actually a job application, and the membership look at your resume," said Mayes, also a parliamentary committee chairman. "I won that once already, and not too long ago, and things haven't changed. I just kind of question why we're going through this again." Party governors responded to caucus complaints by announcing this month that nomination meetings in ridings with Conservative MPs would be held as soon as possible and before Parliament re-opens on September 18th. For would-be challengers, that meant little time to get ready.
Dean Skoreyko had three days to do a police check, answer a long questionnaire, post bonds, get 25 supporters to sign documents and get the whole package couriered to Ottawa. Skoreyko is taking on Mayes in Okanagan-Shuswap. "This is by far the tightest and shortest period of time and the most difficult to get a nomination process done," said Skoreyko, a longtime party activist. "The paperwork has been tough, and the difference is the incumbents don't have to do the same paperwork." But Skoreyko didn't want to criticize the process in more detail, particularly before his candidacy is approved by headquarters. "It's difficult for me to discuss anything, because they're approving my application," he said with a chuckle.