By Cole Breiland
The recent robocall scandal suggests the political climate in Canada is souring. Reversing the Conservative government’s tendency to weaken the bureaucracy may make it palatable to Canadians again by making elections more clean and fair.
During the last election, it is alleged that thousands of calls were made by an automated dialing system and warm-blooded call centre workers to as many as 77 ridings across Canada. The caller advised the voter that their voting station had changed, when it had not.
Elections Canada staff said in their report on the last election that they had 1,003 complaints that required individual response. Among those were several allegations of calls “designed to discourage voting, discourage voting for a particular party, or incorrectly advise electors of changed polling stations.”
It is not clear who is going to shoulder the blame in the end. Regardless, it is an issue both for the Canadian government and public.
Former Reform Party Leader Preston Manning commented rightly on this scandal, noting that it is a problem for all the political parties. If there is a heavy distrust of government, it makes it harder for the government to do any governing. He prescribes changing the culture of campaigns by doing ethics education for campaign workers.
That likely would not help “Pierre Poutine,” or the possible others hiding along with him. Poutine is the mystery alias that made automated robocalls. He has evaded investigators so far by using a prepaid cell phone and a Paypal account filled by a Visa gift card paid for by cash. Poutine knew the illegality of his actions and that being associated with a specific party would be detrimental to its public support.
The quicker Elections Canada, the RCMP or a public inquiry can get to the bottom of this scandal, the better for everyone involved.
The NDP is providing a more concrete solution to the issue with a private member’s bill from Nycole Turmel. It will empower the chief elections officer to request all party financial documents related to the elections act, force telemarketing companies that provide voter contact services to register with Elections Canada, and require telemarketing clients to be registered and verified; this bill proposes to make these requirements retroactive to cover the last election.
The motion was initially opposed by the Conservative government but in an about-face, they have given it some initial support.
Giving Elections Canada the power to investigate this and future matters fully appears to be the best possible way to bring Poutine to justice and to strengthen Canada’s democratic institutions.