Conservatives Didn’t Declare Payments Made To Robocalls Company, Can’t Explain To Elections Canada Why Not
"OTTAWA — Elections Canada investigators probing the robocalls scandal are interviewing workers on the Conservative campaign in Guelph, Ont., and trying to determine why payments made to an Edmonton voice-broadcasting company were not declared in financial reports filed with the agency.
In recent days, the agency has spoken to at least three workers from the campaign of Conservative candidate Marty Burke, including the official agent responsible for ensuring the campaign’s financial report was accurate.
Elections Canada wants to know why the costs of automated calls the campaign has admitted sending out never appeared in the campaign’s expense report, as required by law.
Andrew Prescott, the deputy campaign manager, said he is co-operating with the investigation and handing over bills he received from RackNine Inc. for a series of robocalls promoting Burke events during the election.
The same company was used to transmit misleading Elections Canada calls on election day.
Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher
National Post
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OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives are refusing to publicly release phone records related to their telemarketing in the last election, despite insisting that the Liberal party should take this action with its own records.
Opposition parties quickly reacted Monday by accusing the Tories of adopting a bizarre double standard as the government tries to quell the growing robocall controversy over whether someone systematically harassed and misled voters into going to the wrong polling stations in last year's election.
The development occurred as Harper's parliamentary secretary, Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro, warded off questions in the House of Commons by flatly alleging that it was the Liberals -- not the Tories -- who were responsible for "each and every one" of the calls that have now spawned thousands of complaints from voters and an investigation by Elections Canada.
Since the robocall controversy broke nearly two weeks ago through a story by Postmedia News and the Ottawa Citizen, opposition parties have been grilling the governing Conservatives in the Commons over whether the Conservatives had any role in the affair.
Harper, his campaign chair and Del Mastro have all said the Tory campaign was not involved."
-Tories won't make records public but demand Liberals release theirs -Winnipeg Free Press
Voters and/or candidates in the disputed ridings may launch a lawsuit under the Canada Elections Act; they can then later on subpoena all the political parties to produce their lists of telephone calls (including the much vaunted CIMS of the CPC and Liberalist of the LPC), as well as individuals involved to personally appear as witness under oath.
Be sure of one thing: if enough voters and candidates in enough ridings launch lawsuits soon (THE CLOCK IS RUNNING AND THERE ARE LESS THAN 2 WEEKS LEFT BEFORE THE RIGHT TO SUE IS EXTINGUISHED), then ALL records will find their way into court and the truth - one way or the other - will out.
You cannot granstand a court, even though you can a Parliament.
Posted by
CuriosityCat |
3:31 pm, March 06, 2012
Good Blog. Interesting Brad Wall article.
Back to robo-call. Me thinks that Mr. Prescott might be feeling a little heat now...
He has a unique Racknine billing procedure.
JJ from Calgary
Not Rob Anders riding, Lee Richardson,( known as the open eyed Anders )
Posted by
Jonathan Joseph |
12:09 am, March 09, 2012