Federal Green leadership candidate Elizabeth May's campaign operations are being reviewed by the party's election fairness committee, Public Eye has exclusively learned. David Chernushenko, her principal opponent, has filed a request asking the committee to determine if the costs for "multi-purpose" events should be considered campaign expenses. At issue: Whether Ms. May's current cross-country tour discussing the environmental impact of tar sands development is such an event. Ms. May says the tour isn't connected to her leadership bid and shouldn't be counted as an expense, adding "I've never cut an ethical corner in my life and I never will."

But, following one of those talks, a prominent campaign supporter was selling Green memberships as part of that bid - a onetime occurrence according to Ms. May. Ms. May says Mr. Chernushenko filed the request after Public Eye earlier reported the tar sands talks were being advertised as "campaign events" on her website.

"I'm not worried," said Ms. May, referring to the investigation, which is also looking into how the tour is being financed.

Ms. May, who recently resigned as the Sierra Club's executive director but is still working under a part-time contract with the group, maintains the $30,000 tour is part of her everyday work. And that means it shouldn't be counted toward her $50,000 spending limit as a Green leadership candidate. Nor should it be included in the expense forms she'll file with Elections Canada - according to advice her team received from the government agency.

But the Sierra Club's acting executive director Stephen Hazell says his organization "didn't put a penny" into the tar-sands talks because "inevitably, in this tour, Elizabeth will be talking about her Green Party candidacy. It would be unrealistic for her not to talk about it."

An example: prior to giving one of those talks at the University of Victoria, Ms. May did a meet-and-greet on campus with Green members. Bruce Hallsor, a lawyer and election law expert, says the cost of travelling to that reception wouldn't have to be declared because she was in the city for work reasons. But, after she gave that tar sands talk, B.C. Green leader Adriane Carr set up a table outside the lecture hall to sell federal party memberships in support of Ms. May's campaign.

Ms. Carr, who is backing Ms. May, says those sales weren't "coordinated through [the] campaign. It was coordinated through me sensing an opportunity."

Mr. Hallsor says those membership sales - which occurred in the same foyer where Ms. May was doing a book signing - could make the tar-sands talk look like a campaign event. And "if that's happening everywhere or regularly" she Ms. May could be required to count the entire tour as a campaign expense.

But Ms. May says party memberships haven't been sold at other tar sands events. And, referring to the Victoria speech, she says "There's no way anyone who was actually there could see that as a campaign event."

"Other people had set up tables to collect names and petitions for other things," outside the lecture hall, Ms. May noted. And Ms. Carr's activities were not "connected to anything that was approved or discussed in advance."

Those talks were also - until recently - being advertised on the "campaign trail" section of Ms. May's website as "future campaign events." But they were removed last week after Public Eye questioned whether those advertisements were appropriate. At the time, Ms. May said she "hadn't noticed (the tar sands taks) were all described as campaign events." A version of this article was originally published in today's edition of 24 hours.