Rae accuses Tories of 'dirty tricks' in robocall scandal

Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of encouraging 'Nixonian' tactics during the last election campaign, but the Tories aren't the only ones being accused of using dirty political tricks. Richard Madan reports.

CTV National News: Is legal action coming?

CTV's Chief Political Correspondent Craig Oliver explains whether there will be any court challenges on the outcome of the last federal election in the wake of the robocall scandal.

CTV Toronto: Opposition addresses the scandal

Interim Liberal and NDP leaders, Bob Rae and Nycole Turmel, are calling for a full investigation into misleading phone calls to voters during the last federal election. Nicole Johnson reports.

CTV Southwestern Ontario: Robocalls allegations

Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae maintained that Conservatives were trying to manipulate votes in ridings where races were tight. Matthew Kang reports.

CTV Extended: Rae responds to the scandal

Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae says the robocall scandal shows there was a 'pattern of wrongdoing and misbehaviour' in the last federal election at a press conference in Toronto.

CTV News Channel: Robocalls slammed as shameful

The parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Dean Del Mastro, says the party wants answers to what exactly went on during the last election and wants Canadians to understand what the 'truth' is.

Watch: See all Videos in the Player

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Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae, right, speaks to the media during a press conference over so-called robocalls that have attracted the attention of Elections Canada in last year's federal election in Toronto on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012. (Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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CTVNews.ca Staff

Date: Sat. Feb. 25 2012 9:19 PM ET

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae said he has "no doubt" that misleading phone calls to voters during the last federal election contributed to the defeat of some of his party's candidates, and accused the Conservatives of "dirty tricks" to suppress Liberal and NDP votes.

Speaking to reporters in Toronto Saturday, Rae said the Liberals now have evidence that voters in up to 27 ridings received automated calls on election day instructing them to go to the incorrect polling station.

"These are not just isolated incidents," Rae said, pointing to what he calls a "troubling pattern" of voter suppression and intimidation.

If there is enough evidence of systemic voter deception, the Liberals will call for by-elections in affected ridings and the party will consider legal action, Rae said.

Elections Canada and police are looking into reports of "robocalls" in as many as 18 ridings. Rae is calling for a full investigation and will ask for an emergency debate in Parliament on Monday.

Interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel also called on Elections Canada and the RCMP to investigate the calls, "so this doesn't happen again." The NDP claims its candidates may have been targeted in up to three dozen ridings.

Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro joined calls for a thorough probe Saturday, saying his own campaign in Peterborough was a target of similar "dirty tricks" and aggressive phone calls leading up to the May 2, 2011 election.

Del Mastro, the parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, told CTV News Channel his Conservative supporters and campaign office volunteers were harassed with "aggressive" phone calls, often late at night.

He denied trying to deflect blame from the Conservatives with the revelation. He said he didn't publicly complain about the calls before the ‘robocall' scandal broke out because he didn't know the problem was so widespread. He said he initially thought the harassing calls were just another hazard of political campaigning.

Del Mastro said he will now be forwarding information about abusive phone calls in his riding to Elections Canada.

Rae maintained that Conservatives were trying to manipulate votes in ridings where races were tight.

He accused Harper, who has denied any knowledge of the phony calls, of creating "a culture of antagonism" that encourages "dirty tricks."

"Dirty tricks are not permissible at any time," Rae said while campaigning with the Liberal candidate who is running in the upcoming by-election in the Toronto-Danforth riding.

The automated calls have been traced to Racknine Inc., an Edmonton-based company that worked for the Conservative Party's national campaign and at least nine other Conservative candidates, including the prime minister.

While the Conservative Party has denied any involvement, some media reports linked a 23-year-old Tory staffer, Michael Sona, to robocalls made in Guelph. Although there is no evidence Sona was behind the calls, he resigned from the office of Toronto-area MP Eve Adams on Thursday night.

The notion that one rogue Tory is responsible for "thousands" of robocalls in various ridings "defies all credibility," Rae said.

"This could not have been done by one person," he said, calling on all members of the Conservative Party -- "including the prime minister" -- who have information about the calls' origins to come forward.

An example of ‘robocall'-related complaints lodged with Elections Canada was obtained by The Canadian Press, in which a Waterloo, Ont. voter said she had received a phone call instructing her to vote at the wrong polling station.

Unlike similar calls made in nearby Guelph, documents show the Conservatives "belatedly admitted that they were responsible for the call, describing it as an error."

Responding to the complaint, Elections Canada investigator Al Mathews said the Conservatives took responsibility for the misleading call and chalked it up to an innocuous error.

Elections Canada dropped the Waterloo investigation after the voter said she didn't want to explore the incident further.

Comments are now closed for this story

David
said

Should not the headline read "Rae accuses Tories of Liberal win in some ridings?" After all those misdirected could very well have been Conservative voters or undecided. Rae is expressing his inteligence once again. Rae is still not aware that the riding accusing the "Tories", the one government that is keeping its promises, of fraud where the Liberals or the NFP won?

Greg
said

All political parties keep very good records of voter intent during their voter canvasing procedures. As such it is very easy to identify many of the households are voting for any specific party. The conservatives may have used this information to send the robo-calls to target voter suppression especially where tight electoral races may be occurring. If this was done, the Conservatives committed yet another criminal offence.

arby
said

hang up your hat bob, the liberals lost the last election.

Geoff
said

Tell me Bob Rae how many Liberals have gone to jail for Adscam? Until you work to get the guilty in your own part pay the price, shut up. Some of us are sick of this senseless partisan games that you are a campion of.

jake
said

Mark- Alberta wrote - Until the Liberals pay back all $100 million taken by some of their members during Adscam, I won't listen to what Rae has to say. Are we suppose to forgive the Liberals for taking that money? Get over it already. This happened 10 years ago and the people went to jail and most of the money has already been recovered. However, in this case which isn't about Rae, its about Harper and his dirty tricks. If you're going to say demand 100 million dollars back then I demand all the billions back for white elephant fighter jets, fake lakes, G20 party favors, OAS, EI, and all the rest that these thieves have gotten into. And one more thing... I'll demand back democracy too!

Donaldbain
said

What really needs to be proved here is that who actually financed this and that all of the people "prevented" from voting would have voted for someone other than the winning candidate and that it would have been significant enough numbers to put the election results in question. Stop wasting everyone's time and money chasing moonbeams and distracting from the actual issues facing this country.

JD
said

Ken Humphreys said "Would someone please tell me how Robocaller knew who was voting Conservative, Liberal or NDP?" The Conservatives maintain a database - think of it as Facebook for politics - but you don't sign up, they sign you up. They maintain as much information about you as they can, including likely voting intentions.

robin hood
said

What about state side involvement Harper has been noted snuggling up to Bush before moving on to Obama and his Administration. Their secretive meetings and backroom deals; the G8-G20 fiasco in Toronto, his fishing buddy Rob Ford�s bullying tactics, his fixation on everything Royal should give us cause to spot a few red flags. Foreign influence in fix elections is certainly not unheard of. What President wouldn�t want the leadership of another country, especially ours with all its rich resources in their back pocket? What about the power race to take claim in our Arctic? I think we can safely assume the Free trade deals signed thus far have not exactly work in our favor. Seems we are ripe for the picking. This would be a sound strategic move for anyone hell bent on taking over the world. Unless Michael Sona is in fact Merlin in disguise I suggest Harper has outside influences on his side!

BP from Winnipeg
said

I am curious. How many people here voted conservative because of the Robo calls? Again, I am just curious. I just wanted to know.

W783
said

To all those who thinks that this scam could only be done with millions of dollars and had to go straight to the stop. All you need is a database of phone numbers ie a phone book or in todays case a electronic phone book to witch you could probally get a cd or text file/pdf or what ever that had every single listed phone number in Canada. A program that will dial or call the numbers on the list and play an audimated message when you pick up the phone. This could have probally been done with one person and a single computer. Also this tecnology is not top secerect because it is utilized by any buisness that has telemarketing division. Or at the very least someone could could of paid a telemarketing firm or company to do this. Im not saying it is right or am I taking sides but come on people this is not a freaking Tom Clancey novel.

James Kowalski
said

This is outrageous!!! I want to see as many conservatives go to jail as liberals did in adscam.

RaeDazed
said

Well it appears that the NDP and Pat Martin are being sued for defamation by the Robo company . Rae better be careful what he says out of the House or he might be too.

testy
said

Ken... Campaign organisations in all ridings collect data on who is likely to vote for them, who surely will, who won't and who is on the fence. It is essential to running a political campaign. There is nothing odd about having that information. Using it to mislead people in the way its seems the Conservatives did is, however, illegal. According to the Elections Act, evidence of this kind of fraud is the only thing the Libs need to have elction results in affected ridings invalidated. I"m afraid Harper just fell on his sword.

Greg Orbman
said

Astonishing the number of posts that seem to think that interfering with a fair election is a partisan matter. The Conservative supporters think that interfering with the election process is acceptable.

Thomas
said

Actually Scott, what you described is very possible. An an IT worker, I can verify that is is very possible to use my laptop and a simple skype connection to flood any selected set of phone numbers to provide a false voice call to tell people anything I choose. This will also allow me to designate not only the recipients of the calls but also to provide a false VOIP originator. As a conspiracy theory, it is entirely too plausible, in fact more so than trying to get this apolitical type to buy into the theory that the conservatives targeted only their opponents- so HOW EXACTLY did they ensure that ONLY Liberal/NDP supporters got these calls? Something smells here, there are too many inconsistencies for me to buy into the claims of election fraud.

Accountability
said

For those who wonder how the Conservatives know who votes for who. Have you ever received a ten percenter from the Cons, you know the brochure in the mail that tells you 'all the wonderful things Harper is doing' and asks you what your opinion is on whatever? Have you ever received a call from a polling agency asking your opinion on issues, perhaps even asking you to indicate your political preference. Have you ever had a campaign sign on your lawn? Have you ever been phoned by a political party and asked if you support them? That is how the parties know who you support and they keep track of tht so that on election day they can ensure that you get to the polls. Its called GOTV...Get Out the Vote. Scrutineers are able to see if their supporters have voted, if not they try to get you out to vote, which is perfectly legal. In this instance that information was used to keep many Liberal and some NDP supporters from voting, which is called suppressing the vote and which is illegal.

Misty
said

Wouldn't it be nice if the "Anonymous" group could get some info for us on this apparent election fraud

Ken Humphreys
said

Would someone please tell me how Robocaller knew who was voting Conservative, Liberal or NDP?

JD
said

Vanc Guy said "Is Bob Rae even welcome in Ontario anymore?" Surprisingly, polling data shows he's more popular in Ontario than any other province.

Keith Fisher
said

What can be more pathetic than Bob Rae and his arrogant Liberal entourage blaming everybody but themselves for losing the election? No, Bob, it had nothing to do with your ineffectual leader. No, Bob, it had nothing to do with your party's lack of a platform. No, Bob, it had nothing to do with the electorate's dismissal of Liberal entitlement. And Bob's claim of "taking away from NDP votes"? I believe they now have the most seats in the House that they've ever had. Bob should know all about "dirty tricks" in an election; the Liberals wrote the book on them.

Misty
said

I strongly suggest those who favour by-elections be called for the affected ridings, or an Election to be called, please contact the Governor General and voice your lack of confidence in a Government that Tampers with Elections. Let him know you feel Canadian Democracy is at stake.His Excellency the Right Honourable David JohnstonGovernor General of CanadaRideau Hall1 Sussex DriveOttawa ON K1A 0A1(no postage necessary)Please note that general comments and opinions may not receive a response. Correspondence that is commercial in nature or constitutes “spam,” or that contains obscene, derogatory, threatening or abusive language, will not receive a response.

Justme
said

LOL I see the liberals are taking the high road, free press coverage, what a clock.

misty
said

It was Bob Rae's motion that toppled Clarke's government after only 8 months.

Mark - Alberta
said

Until the Liberals pay back all $100 million taken by some of their members during Adscam, I won't listen to what Rae has to say. Are we suppose to forgive the Liberals for taking that money?

LaurieL
said

It's amusing to see how all the Harper apologists on here are trying to redirect the debate to the Liberals and their past actions. This would be comical, if it wasn't so darn pathetic. Well, it won't work! This is clearly criminal activity, especially if the RCMP verify that it involves a dozen or more ridings. To date, the finger clearly points towards the Harper Conservatives. If the activities are verified, new elections should be called in all of those ridings, regardless of who won the seats. Furthermore, those responsible, should face jail time.

Chuck
said

How would you know who these supposed voters were going to vote for anyways? Other than party candidates on the ballot, they're is no way of knowing who's voting who in power. People can change their minds anytime. Such hogwash!!

Misty
said

Election fraud = lllegitimate government

Stu
said

We have an illegitimate government there is no other way to look at it. The neo-con reformers cheated on the election. It can't be trusted that only 28 riding's were affected, time to call a general election. It would be nice not to see those nasty con attack ads but they have nothing else to offer.

chuck
said

What about calling Robocop??

CHUCK
said

I mean it, call ROBOCOP

Andy
said

Elections Canada and the RCMP have been investigating this for one year and seem to have mounting evidence of fraud. By law, where there is evidence of electoral fraud, you can have electoral results overturned. It is just a matter f time before Harper loses his majority. Instead of defending him, conservative supporters should be peeved. It will be an awful long time before you live this one down and come anywhere close to power again.

Chuck
said

Ho, ho better call fiberal/NDP Robocop to the rescue to expose the whole truth!! Lol, what will the opposition try? Will they ever accept defeat?? NEVER

shawbrooke
said

Mr Rae is seriously delusional if he thinks that a few robo calls changed people's minds. Mr. Rae needs to live in the real world for awhile. Sore loser? Yes. For some reason wants Vikileaks to go away and is providing a diversion? Yes, but how dumb does he think we are?

ex-Liberal
said

C'mon, Bob, stop carrying that self-righteous banner. You, of the sponsorship scandal- ridden party? Underhanded? Deceptive? Misleading? Secretive? All of the above? Be careful before you pull on the holier than thou shirt, Bob et al. I'm not endorsing what may have gone on during the campaign, but liberals produced victims too . . . exploited taxpayers, for which there was no accountability or restitution whatsoever. No wonder politics in Canada has lost its credible place. There may be some memories that have filed this thievery in the back cupboard, but not this voter's memory!

Canadas own Watergate
said

I want to see prison terms. I want to see some of these goons offered a deal in exchange for bigger fish. I believe this goes to the top...no different than Watergate.

Brian from Calgary
said

The Liberals know dirty tricks better then anyone. They are the master of them. Just look at the NEP, their promises on income taxes, their treatment of our military, their ads that drag the military through the dirt in attempts to make the conservatives look radical in every election since 2004, and their own little "dirty trick" phone calls dating back to the 2004 election.

Mark G.
said

The Liberal party keeps sinking to new lows. They have no real evidence of any wrongdoing but jump to conclusions and rush to judgement because they have nothing else to offer Canadians. Bob Rae is making a fool of himself acting with false indignation and making ridiculous accusations and allegations. The Liberals lost the last election and cannot and will not accept it. They feel they are entitled to govern, even when they lose. Rather than working on good plans and stategies, they spend their entire time trying to dig up dirt on the Conservatives to try and have the last election annulled. It is incredible and very disturbing. Bob Rae, please step down and let someone else that has coomon sense take your place.

Elizabeth, Ontario
said

Bob Rae can speak out all he wants. After his reign as Premier of Ontario the man has zero credibility. I don't believe the robocall scandal was done by just one party. All political parties seem to believe that dirty tactics against their opposing parties are more effective than presenting their own platform to potential voters.

Bob,Calgary,Alberta
said

Bob Rae and his cronies live in some kind of surreal world where Liberal hegemony still reigns. Even if there were some so-called dirty tricks and I don't believe they were organized by the Conservative party the whole country was disenchanted with the Liberals and their record of corruption and mismanagement. So the Liberal route was what the voters wanted and what the Liberals deserved. Of course the Liberals will come back with Bob Rae or someone else as their leader and after the Conservatives have exhausted their support will replace the Conservatives as the government. My hope is that Stephen Harper will have changed our country enough by then that having the Liberals as government will not affect our future. Canada seems destined to alternate between Cons and Libs as rulers with the NDP pining for power which, God willing, they will never achieve. In the end it matters only minimally which party rules because all politicians are essentially liars and incompetents who really care very little for Canada but seek only power. This is the same all over the Western democracies where incompetent and untrustworthy individuals constantly cause suffering to their populations.

JD
said

Seems like this onion is just starting to get peeled.

Wes
said

Bob Rae.......The man who promised everything and delivered. And where is Ontario today.

Rob in the north
said

If any phone calls were made how the heck did the callers know what party the residents were voting for ?It could have been liberals or NDP making calls also.The conservatives won the election so get on with letting them do there jobs and don't be such sore losers.

TM
said

I seem to recall a riding somewhere in Ontario where the Liberal candidate was having problems with mail not being delivered. Wonder if it was ever resolved?

Tim
said

I see Mr. Rae still believes in "Innocent until Proven Guilty", that's nice... wait...

Raymond
said

Speaking of dirty tricks, isn't that Joe Volpe standing behind Rae? The same fellow who's campaign workers plucked green party literature out of voter's mailboxes and replaced them with Liberal pamphlets? Sure it is. Liberals are nothing if not hypocrits.

CD from AB
said

Who cares about a floor crosser like Bob Rae anyways? Dead liberals is correct.Better have a government that leads than a bunch of rabble with no ability to lead. The rest of the opposition can go and spin!

S. Johnstone-Smitts
said

The Liberal party hasn't been in power for a long time now so you REFORMACONS can stop harping on that. How long has the PC party been in power now? It's time for Harper and Co to put on the big boy pants and take responsibility for their actions and the actions of their support teams, like all good old fashioned western boys. You extreme right wingers might want to start backing the WILD ROSE PARTY, they seem to be gaining momentum. Sitting back and smirking slyly about Liberal scandals from over a decade ago is making your comments lose any credibility. Where's the western ethic?

Jay in saskatoon
said

i agree that bi-elections should be held in the ridings affected...largely because 'Liberals' were elected in those ridings I'm sure that the voters would like to ammend their grave mistakes!

Casey
said

CONS gotta go and soon!

arckw
said

Really all this conservatives? What about ridings where conservative's were going to win easily or ones that were between libs and ndp? I think every party has something to do with this...

SF Thomas, Ottawa
said

Rae is bang on in his speech. Even if the Conservative Party is not directly responsible for those robocalls trying to mislead voters where the polling stations were, the culture and atmosphere they have been cultivating is likely to encourage these kinds of actions. They have to step back a bit and cut out the absolutist us vs them attitude. DelMastro is also full of it when he is complaining about his riding getting aggressive campaign calls. Calls trying to change voters minds by alternate parties, even if annoying, are not the same as the robocalls which illegally claimed that they were from Elections Canada and trying to mislead people as to where the polling stations were. Miss-representing yourself on the phone is illegal, particularly if it is a government official.

Gerald
said

That's it, go get em Bob, you tell em !

lmo
said

Trying to discredit others because of their lack of credibility is as per the Liberal norm.The perfect one Mr. Rae speakes again with an obvious set up and photo op for his liberal leadership bid, and he is quite happy with Justin having a hard time pulling his foot reapeteadly out of his mouth. Either one will be torn to shreds by the H team.

rick
said

Why do we pay these people. It is funny for many years at least 20 or more There are reserves here in manitoba that won't let any politicians on them except the NDP. And they use serious threats why isn't this covered in the news. And it happens ever election. Cross lake being one of the worse offends. Where is the great fair and fact finding media on those issues. Oh well i have never believed the media is anything but an agenda drive org.

Leo
said

Oh, me doth think he doth protest too much.

That retired guy
said

C'mon folks..let's get real here. Do you really believe that a political party would dare do someting like this ? Not too likely. More probably a rogue player - or someone wanting to smear a political party ( anyone ever think of that..?) was responsible. As far as Mr. Rae is concerned..keep barking, your Ontario voters have looonng memories.

Vanc Guy
said

Is Bob Rae even welcome in Ontario anymore? With the debt and destruction of their economy Canadians sure don't want him - wonder how Ontario still could.

Jim-Surrey
said

Oh here we go all the Con haters! Well nothing has been proven of WHO did what. Rae shouldn't being commenting as he is in the most corrupt political party in Canada. And who is he to talk given his past track record?

charlie
said

Bob Rae "accused the Conservatives of "dirty tricks" to suppress Liberal and NDP votes". I suppose that is different from Liberal promises not to freeze wages like Bob Stanfield intended; to abolish the GST if elected; lying over Adscam; lying about the Conservatives who were going to "put soldiers on the streets with guns" ; repeal womens' reproductive choices etc. etc. . I would think this was all done in an effort to gain Liberal votes and reduce Tory Support. Or how about Jack Layton promising Quebec to re-open the Constitution if elected; or running candidates who were nothing more than names and who spent no time trying to get elected; or even, in many cases could not speak French and never showed up in the ridings where they were trying for election. Those are, I am asked to believe are OK? Why, because they were done by the Liberals and the NDP? Bob, settle down, skip the histronics, have a nice warm glass of milk, and maybe a few cookies, and chill out. Remember, the "Tories bad - Us good" didn't work last time and won't work this time. Try some solid policy initiatives instead - oh, don't have any - not surprised!

sassy
said

One question, Can the GG call for a another election?
How do we know IF the results would be the same after all the calls AND the Harper government going over budget for advertising.We MUST get rid of Harper. CALL a election NOW.

Bob in Courtenay
said

It's amazing (and disgusting) the number of Con supporters who, faced with clear evidence of voter fraud, either go into denial or attack the opposition. This was an expensive, well organized nationwide operation whose directions could only have come from the highest levels within the CPC. Blaming this on low level staffers is patently ridiculous. They neither had the authority or the cash to pull this off.If Harper escapes justice this time...then its time for the revolution.

Doug On
said

How many Liberal members resigned after the election campaign they ran with millions stolen from Canadian taxpayers in the scheme that originated in the office of Prime Minister Chretien?

Allan H
said

Mr Rae would say anything after the dismal results they had after the last election. His party did not get to where it is by being the perfect government. Everyone who is in that position should be in Prison. They say they are there for the people. So far I have not seen the people get the perks that the MP's and the provincial MLA's get. Everyone one of them are crooks and they need to be reigned in. They are a joke to us all.

Conrad
said

I'm no Liberal supporter, but if I were to give them any advice:Forget about trying to bring the Tories down - you've tried for the last 4 elections and obviously it hasn't worked. Instead, why don't you look yourselves in the face, figure out what you can offer Canadians, and try again that way?

Brian Fr Langley
said

That someone may have committed election fraud is unconscionable, but accusing folks without evidence is not only patently unreasonable but frankly outrageous. Are we really so partisan as to shout off with their heads before one single fact is known. No wonder this Country is in so much trouble

Marc
said

Unlike the liberals who took ta payer money put in in manilla envelopes, gave it to crooked liberals supporters who then gave part of the money back as donations to the liberal party so they could advertise to help steal themselves an election. Hmm So bob who invented the dirty tricks. Oh ya and liberals are in jail fordoing what they did. Very rich of the Liberals folks.

Public inquiry
said

Two words, Public inquiry!

Jason Daniel Baker, Toronto
said

Accusations like this only begin to erode public support for a party when they multiple and form a pattern of demonstrable fact. The media has a responsibility to report it and the public can only react with disapproval. We aren't talking about something as dismissable as crank calls. We are seeing a consistent pattern of illegal activity designed to skew electoral results.

Raymond
said

I'm sure when Mccallum and Sgro followed Harper & his Tory candidates around their Ontario ridings, slinging mud and name-calling door-to-door, that cost Harper a few seats in the 2005 election as well. Big deal. The LPC looks deperate and sad indeed. Instead of whining about Harper, they need to work on some tangible policies that the electorate will find appealing.

Daveyboy
said

The conservatives had one bad apple the Liberals are a basket still full of bad apples. The conservatives seem to be moving along nicely in power. I'm very impressed with the amount of good work being done. continue listening to the countries moral thinking folks and you'll stay in power for a long time.

CromCroc
said

Absolutely disgusting. A minority government may be undesirable, but at least it's legitimate. Makes me ashamed to be an Edmontonian and associated with people who would whore out democracy and freedom for power and money. Of course Harper is so fond of China - he wishes he had their sort of political system without having to worry about elections and accountability.

Greg in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario
said

This is typical Conservative public deception and cheating to win an election at all costs. First the deliberate election over spending of which they were found guilty, and now yet another criminal act of election fraud. The Canadian public should be embarrassed and applaud that we have Conservative criminals that now govern our country by using these anti-democratic and criminal acts. It would appear that it's just fine doing anything to win in this new anti-democratic Canadian reality.

Dave in Thunder Bay
said

If they have any self-respect left, the CON MPs from the affected ridings will resign on their own so that new bi-elections can be called. YOU WERE NOT ELECTED LEGITIMATELY. Resign before you are kicked out by Elections Canada. It is the only way to salvage your personal reputation.

Danny Dinosaur
said

We should all give the Cons access to our computers. That way they could do much better job on targeting these calls for the next election. It would be a money saver.

Lz in Edmonton
said

The liberal party was in the toilet well before the election. But nice try.

Island Man
said

This is not 'Dirty Tricks'This is Criminal Election tampering and those involved should be put into those new prisons Harper's building. There should be enough room for his whole gang.

stella
said

We need to get rid of our Harper government NOW. They are liars at best,corrupt , inefficient and spend all their time covering their backsides by any means they can. Usually a lie.They act like kids in the playground. My apologies to the children. You are more honest and mature than these fools.Corruption and greed in a government are simply a recipe for disaster as we are seeing.RECALL TIME IS NOW!

Scott Johnson
said

With nothing to gain and the party going into the p##per during the last days of election 2011, a strategy is hatched. Let�s have an anonymous caller, using a simple lap top, at arm�s length from our party, send harassing calls to our own supporters. Then when someone else cries fowl, we can behave with indignation, demand by-elections, and get more seats after the election by creating a false public outcry. Conspiracies are fun aren't they? You can say what you want and never have to defend them, because of course they're only theories. Does anyone believe that we should step away from the political spin-doctors and let the investigators sort this out?? Just a thought

Spencer
said

Conservatives like me are more annoyed than anyone about this activity. The Liberals pretend to be angry about this, but look at their faces in the photo that accompanies this article. The Liberals are utterly gleeful about this. The one person who is probably more annoyed about this activity than anyone is the Prime Minister, whose efforts to build the reputation of his party have been set back by the amateurish, stupid, immature and probably criminal misdeeds of a very small handful of punks within the Conservative Party. There is no evidence that these activities helped any Conservative candidate win a seat, but the resulting controversy will surely hurt some Conservative candidates in the next election.

Darlene
said

If Its True - Ottawa
I have just sent this to Prime Minister Harpers office.

I think someone should send Bob Rae a mirror and a history book, it's so easy for a Liberal to point fingers but look at the three point back to themselves.
Ye without sin cast the first stone.

Ontario Taxpayer
said

I really dig how all of the anti-conservatives label this government as a dictatorship. Where were you voices when Chretien was ramming useless propaganda down our throats and wasting billions? Oh, I digress....it is necessary to have a full RCMP investigation and anyone found to be involved be prosecuted. No matter who that is.

Len
said

If these accusations are true it sounds like Harper learned how to do things like that and Karl Rowe, Bush's confidant, would be so proud. If one can't win fairly a bit of cheating never hurts. Now we're stuck.

David
said

Crazy thought here, but shouldn't they be more worried about running the country than ruining each other? I mean, that's what we pay them for, right?

Shar
said

Before Bob Rae goes berserk could we please have an investigation by the RCMP and Elections Canada. Right now Bob Rae is trying to score points and who can blame him but we really need some facts.

paula
said

Harper and his cartel need to step down. They are not taking care of Canadian business but spending all their time pointing blame on some inane issue. They are corrupt to the core. I don't care which party it is. If they are BAD they are BAD.Where there's smoke there's fire.TIME FOR A RECALL

JD from Ontario
said

The CPC's had to give up someone, so a young intern like Michael Sona is likely the only person we will hear about (voluntarily at least). I would not be surprised that this scandal has its roots if not links to the Senate. Canadian tax dollars at work! To say this caused the defeat of any candidates is far from proven!

Susie-Q Mtl.
said

I don't think that young man who came forward is responsible for this. This needed lots of $'s which he doesn't have. He is a scape goat. The R.C.M.P. will get to the bottom of this. The results should be interesting. I sure do hope Mr Harper isn't involved. Then we will all be voting again. Strange place Canada is. Bye. Have a good day all.

Zoe
said

Whatever happened to Innocent Until PROVEN Guilty? Does this not apply to the Conservatives? It seems more and more the public and the media are on a mission to give the Tories as many black eyes as they can. Now if they were indeed behind this scam, then yes, the appropriate people need to be punished. But basically between Bob Rae, the NDP and the media , you have already handed down a verdict with no proof. How is this fair? And while I'm on the subject, Bob Rae should keep his mouth shut, as their are plenty of skeletons in his closet that we could gladly expose.

Chris/Manitoba
said

The two major causes of the Liberal failure in the last election were named Rae and Ignatieff , not some alleged phone calls.

Rod
said

How interesting that WE send people to other countries to obsevers elections for fraud - What happened (in our own country)is CLEARLY criminal and a black mark on OUR democracy. SHAME on us and on whoever is behind this.
They need to be charged and sent to jail like all the other criminals. I agree that this new law would make it easier for this to be done next time when the Cons have access to everyones personal info - without even asking for a warrent. Scarey S...

Prof Pie Hole
said

Some people on here are trying to say innocent until proven guilty.The problem for them is "the Cons have belatedly admitted that they were responsible for the call, describing it as an error".And this is before Sona attempted to fall on the sword for the party, so that ends your argument. This was obviously another con tactic for the election. One that could never have been handled by one young con.

Doug
said

It's been hard for me to explain to people from other countries just how we allowed the Conservatives to win the election. It was pretty much an embarrassment for us internationally. There are so many obvious examples of theft and waste by this party that they overtook the Liberals as exemplars of corruption many years ago.

Dave from Calgary
said

I suspect the biggest problem the Conservative party has is their mistaken belief that they are smarter than everyone else. Just because their followers swallow their stories hook, line and sinker does not mean that the rest of Canadians will more than turn up their nose at the bait. It just gets too rank too quickly when exposed to the light of day.

Jean Durocher
said

Isn't it still Elections Canada to check allegations whether or not someone drops the complaint

Doug
said

Why do some people always see the 'conspiracy' in everything: I am sure that the Conservative Party of Canada had nothing to do with this as it would make absolutely no sense to set yourself up for certain failure. It would be beyond stupid.

To continue to see a spook in every corner is paranoid type behaviour. Baseless or excessive suspicion of the motives of others?

Joan in real World
said

Nothing says CON like lying over and over and over again.

pegger
said

"Elections Canada issued a memo saying that nothing happened that could have changed the results of the most recent general election or in any riding"That's a pretty bold statement for them to make, especially when some contests were extremely close. A few people who decided not to bother after going to the wrong polling station COULD obvioulsy have changed the results.Who's the genius that made this declaration? They need to be relieved of their job!Apart from that the fact is the law was broken and they should have been on top of that, but in harpoland laws are only suggestions. Now the only way to fix it is to have a byelection in every riding where this took place.

M.M.B. Ont
said

While I certainly do not agree with any election tampering and those responsible should be prosecuted, who is to say this was done by the Conservative Party? So many innuendos and different reporting on this. First the calls come from Edmonton, then Joliette Que, now Guelph. I am also sure that Mr Harper is not personally responsble for hiring staff for each and every MP in the Party. Each MP must interview and hire his/her staff members I am sure. And those who received such calls, should have acted on them immediately and first of all gone to the polling station listed on their voter's card. In that way, they would have learned that the polling station was open and reported the calls. Why are we hearing about this 9 months later? Let the investigation take place before we crucify any Party on this. It may well be the act of one corrupt individual who alone masterminded this himself. Hopefully the results of the investigation will be made public soon.

Parker Brown
said

The results for the ridings that received these calls are not valid. These seats sgould be vacated, and there should be fair elections held in these ridings.

Sick of the Lies
said

Let me be clear my friends. The people who benefited from this are Conservatives. One has already admitted culpability. It's not a significant leap to say this was a strategy and not an accident. Bi-elections should be called in every riding affected.

Max
said

re:renalcolicThese calls were placed not under the guise of "some stranger" but under the guise of "ELECTIONS CANADA". Big differencce!

Jay in Stoon
said

It sounds like a young person has had his political career cut short to save some higher-up asses.

Prof. Pye Chartt
said

Andrew Coyne (a sharp and solid political reporter), or at least his editor, could have alternatively titled his article "It Smells Bad; Wafting Aroma Signals Criminal Conspiracy." The fact of the matter, however, is that, to this early point, the dots remain unconnected with regard to operational guilt on the part of the Conservative Party of Canada. (We don't convict people, or organizations, based upon "plausibility.")

Bill
said

People should be educated about automated calls. All Robocalls should be double checked. We hang up on all these calls.

Big bob in Ottawa
said

Time to look closely at Conservative staffers. Especially those that worked in similar positions as the fall guy. Guaranteed you will find someone nearby that knows something. Look at the other MP staffers lots of them on twitter and some have lives of their own and their own agendas. If Harper was happy with these people in his party and in fact employed them can we as Canadians trust his judgement? When the Liberals had Adscam at least they fessed up and people went to jail. Nothing less should happen here, and not just some hapless 23 yr old zealot that learned the tricks from other staffers.

The real G
said

I'm a CPC supporter. This whole thing stinks. Investigate and prosecute as necessary. Open and respectful dialogue not suppresive tactics. Maybe it's time we created a new party. Can't trust the LPC or the CPC and I don't support the ideology of the NDP. LPC has failed us on policy (they leave everything to the buearucracy, and that is just disastrous). They break the law until they get caught. Now the CPC is breaking the law in ways that do not support open and free dialogue (expressed through voting). Let's start a new party. The Progressive Democracy Party of Canada. Fiscally, Socially and Environmentally Responsible...inclusive, respectful and open discussion regardless of race, creed, faith or political ideology. Who is with me?

If Its True - Ottawa
said

If Andrew Coyne's article in today's Ottawa Citizen is true that Elections Canada are pretty sure in identifying a voice why isn't Elections Canada putting the name out there? Someone should send this article on to the Conservative Party in case it was missed in today's Ottawa Citizen, Page 2.

testy
said

Judge for yourselves people. read Andrew Coin's National Post editorial: Google "all to plausible" and "conservatives" and "robocall-scandal". And sign the campaing to force a public inquiry at leadnow(dot)ca.

DemoCrap
said

Make all the excuses you want, what was done is against the law. Although I won't hold my breath on any big consequences, the Cons don't have much respect for the law....or the Canadian people for that matter!

Bumcrack USA
said

@Muggsy. Spare us the "its your responsiblity to know where to vote" CRAP. Tampering with elections by redirecting voters to fake polling stations is A CRIMINAL ACT. It is no different that stoping people from voting by other means. When in h***l did we become a third world dictatorship? Finally, the truth

Prof. Pye Chartt
said

Unless you're a professional anti-Conservative who considers the application of facts to a political viewpoint a matter of annoying inconvenience, and, instead, prefers to operate a partisan contempt based upon conjecture and the melodramatic reaction to same, this story stands as a yawner due to a critical lack of evidential substance.

KC BCk
said

I totally agree with the comment below that typical Alinsky tactics are being used on this board. These have been tools for the left for a long time. I have to admit some have learned well from their masters south of the border in the Democratic party. Hello there King County in Washington state. This whole thing smells of biased reporting and a state of information confusion meant to mislead. It's just too much like the invented scandals of the Dion years! It would also appear that if any annoyance calls were made, they all went to rather gullible people. That software must be amazing!

Mitchy
said

Are you for 'Law & Order' and aren't you? Do you believe in 'Crime & Punishment' or not?You can't pick and choose which laws are for you to obey - ESPECIALLY if you are a legislator in OUR government!What kind of person (CPC supporter or not) could turn a blind eye to vote tampering? Do you not realize it is CRIMINAL? Besides the LAW - do you not have even have any morals or decency within your character to tell right from wrong?

Ed2 in BC
said

Sure sweep it under the carpet. It's just one more nail in the coffin of democracy. I can understand Harper can he stands to gain from situations like this but what about the sheeple who blindly follow him? What do the gullible get out of it other than mea culpa?

Steve in Manotick
said

how much political medaling was in this decision

BP from Winnipeg
said

I would say: Let's clear the air. Let's bring in the RCMP and have them investigate the matter. If anyone is guilty then lets prosecute them to the full extent of the law. Elections tampering or voter tampering is a serious offense. It is not a joke. We vote because we wanted to have a say as to who we want for government. When we vote we are serious and not kidding around. So, I say again. Let's clear the air and resolve this matter quickly so that it does not linger around on the next election.

renalcolic
said

If you are dumb enough to go to a different polling station than the one on your voter card just because some stranger calls and says go to a different location then you are too dumb to vote

Aaron M
said

May 2, 2011 should become a "Black Arm Band Day" for everyone to visually express the loss of democracy in Canada at the hands of Conservatives. We need to stand united and say Enough is Enough!

Muggsy
said

It is up to the voter to make sure they know where to vote, the time the polling station is open, and to arrange whatever travel arrangements/child care arrangements they need to vote. Just because someone phones and tells you something, doesn't mean it's right. AND, if you DON"T vote, then, as far as I am concerned, you have NO RIGHT to complain. I just hope the young staffer who resigned over this isn't being made a "scapegoat".

ian
said

Ever since the Conservatives were elected in 2006 they have had a bullseye on their back. I recall reading a quote in the news pretty much the day after the 2006 election where the Liberals were essentially calling the loss a travesty and vowed to do everything they could to regain power. Instead of congratulating the winner, they chose to immediately take up an "us against them" approach. There have been "in and out" issues for years but none was more publicized that when the Conservatives did it. There are always "shenanigans" as some have called them going on in politics and every party is guilty of them. The NDP are left alone because they never form the government. There were cases in past elections where NDP and Liberal staffers broke election rules at various polling stations but that was always swept under the rug by the media. It always bugs me how there is such a holier than though attitude by those on the political left when history has shown that they are no better than anyone else. If the PM or any one else in the party knew about this Robocall affair then I agree 100% that something needs to be done. But until such time as the investigation can actually PROVE wrongdoing then I think the Innocent Until Proven Guilty principle should be respected. People don't seem to realize I guess that politics is not for nice guys. Throughout the ages, it has been essentially a chess match with the voters as the pawns. Get used to it. Politicians of every stripe are in it for their own needs for power and privilege and we somehow can't seem to understand that politicians even in democracies basically do what they want and tell us what's good for us.

mark
said

If they dropped the probe, there was obviously no evidence to support charges. So, remind me again why this is news? Oh right, because innuendo counts as evidence and indictment these days.

Marty
said

No matter how you slice it there have been consistent allegations against the Cons (oh how fitting that name is at the moment) since 2006. Where there is smoke there is fire. This low- level Conservative staffer who has taken the fall has either been well-compensated for being the scapegoat or been told its for the good of the party. The results of the ridings that were tampered with ( I think they said there were 20) should be put to a re-election. I know, I know, no one wants to vote again, especially this early and there will be a cost, but I would rather spend this money on the truth rather than let the cheaters benefit from their cheating. I am willing to bet had all this been rectified before the vote, the Cons would have only won a minority- and I bet they knew it.

fisch
said

Just imagine during the next election with all the private info the conservatives are going to be able to gather with the new invasion of privacy bill, they will be able to better focus their efforts at driving away liberal, and ndp voters from the polls.

Big Bob in Ottawa
said

It doesn't matter if they would have won anyway. It's illegal because it is against the law. Surely you Con supporters can understand that. So do you think it deserves as much time as six marijuana plants (9 months mandatory) or the lesser charge of commiting a sex act with a minor (90 days 1st offence)?

ian
said

These kind of things are not good, no doubt about it, but what I don't like is how parliamentarians hide behind the protection of the House of Commons and throw out bold accusations against their opponents because they know that they have "privilege" in the house to say anything without fear of being sued for slander. Let the police and elections Canada conduct their investigations but leave the rhetoric at the door please. As for all of you Liberal lovers out there, keep an eye on what is going on in Ontario in regard to various scandals etc before you jump up on your high horses.

Doowleb
said

In true Alyinski tactics, it would not surprise me to hear that these calls were actually made by Liberals in order to muddy an election they knew was showing them the door.

Just Saying - Ottawa
said

Doubt it would have changed any of the results in the election. We all know it is our right to vote and no one knows who we vote for once behind that booth. If a voter wants their party to win then it is up to them to get out and vote not listen to someone who claims to be someone surely people have more brains then this.

mahanna ali
said

the closing paragraph is quite misleading... elections canada cut a deal with the conservative party where they dropped the charges against the three conservative senators and the conservative party would pay a $50,000 fine. it was elections canada who came to the conservatives to make this deal indicating that their case against the party and the senators was anything but airtight... this latest fiasco is not exactly off to a rockin' start as elections canada will not be pursuing this particular case...

Iam
said

GG's office has the authority to end this now. It's obvious Canadians no longer want or are willing to tolerate the current sitting Government. It's becoming more and more obvious how unethical the Conservatives really are, not that it wasn't obvious before, but with the majority they truly think they are untouchable and above any and all laws in Canada.

Shar
said

The article begins by mentioning a complaint from a Conservative riding office. Where is the info? Why did someone from a Conservative riding office think that a call to Elections Canada was necessary? In the interest of generating as much hysteria as possible you have lots to report about the complaint from the Liberal riding office. What ever happened to reporting facts and unbiased reporting?

kat
said

There seems to be so many different stories here. Perhaps the press could get it right the first time before we get all the misleading info. First the calls came from this location and then the calls came from another location etc.... Once again - if you receive a phone call saying you have to change something whether it be bank info or election info - disregard!

Kadie
said

""Compensated psychopaths are probably the most reliable supporters of a dictatorial regime, the emphasis being upon "compensated." A dictator would not function surrounded only with "pure" psychopaths - his regime would achieve nothing, eventually collapsing in utter chaos. A dictator's subordinates have to be conscientious and obedient - in a word, compensated psychopaths." Harper has put together a good 'team'..... just sayin'........

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