The commissioner of Canada Elections wants to force the Conservative party to open its books.

The commissioner is looking into the party's advertising spending from the 2006 election and allegations that the Conservatives broke spending limits and the law through improper accounting practices.

In April of last year Elections Canada asked the RCMP to help raid Conservative headquarters in Ottawa to search for evidence. Investigators seized dozens of boxes of documents and copied millions of files from the party's computers.

But according to an affidavit filed in court, the Conservatives' lawyer claimed virtually all the documents were subject to solicitor-client privilege. Meaning everything had to be sealed.

The commissioner argues the Conservatives copied their lawyer on even the most mundane emails — indicating he wasn't offering legal advice but was one of those organizing the advertising campaign.

The commissioner is asking a judge to look at the documents to decide for himself if they should be protected.

In the meantime, the commissioner's investigation is stalled because much of the evidence he needs to sift through remains sealed.

James Fitz-Morris