Mr. Martin’s (Winnipeg Centre, Man.) outburst came after Question Period was for the second day dominated with allegations members of the Conservative Party used a speed-dial call centre in Alberta in an attempt to dupe Liberal supporters in Guelph, Ont., into believing their polling stations had changed on voting day during the 2011 federal election. The robocalls were placed with voices that identified the callers as representatives of Elections Canada.
Following a report posted during Question Period by Postmedia News and the Ottawa Citizen, quoting court documents showing a person who arranged the calls through RackNine Inc. of Edmonton used the name Pierre Poutin of Separatist Street in Joliette, Que., to register a disposable cell phone involved in the scam, Mr. Martin blew up.
The news came moments after Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre (Nepean-Carleton, Ont.) enraged opposition MPs when he attempted to joke away persistent demands that Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.,) and the Conservative Party divulge everything they know about the robocalls and other anonymous attempts to dissuade voters, primarily Liberal supporters, from turning out to cast ballots last May.
Mr. Poilievre, one of Mr. Harper’s favourite MPs for deflecting controversy, prompted opposition howls when he attempted to brush off questions from NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay, Ont.,).
“If he has any evidence he should press one,” Mr. Poilievre said. “If he has no evidence he should press two to apologize, if he has none he should hang up and call again.”
“It’s no laughing matter, they thought it was a joke?” Mr. Martin said to reporters outside the Commons, growing angrier as he continued talking.
“Calling it Pierre Poutine from Separatist Street? Did they get a laugh out of that? They’re compromising the integrity of our whole electoral system, the dirty little bastards, some dirty, rotten little punk’s behind this, and it makes my blood boil just thinking about it,” Mr. Martin said.
Michael Sona, a campaign worker for the Conservative candidate in Guelph whose name was linked to the Joliette cell phone has resigned his position as an aide in the office of Conservative MP Eve Adams (Mississauga-Brampton South, Ont.), but the opposition says more Conservatives must have been involved.
Outside the Commons, Mr. Martin joined Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C.) in a call for a commission of inquiry, saying quick action is necessary to maintain confidence in the electoral system. Elections Canada has been investigating the robocall complaints in the riding won by Liberal MP Frank Valeriote (Guelph, Ont.) and there have been reports the RCMP is also looking into the affair.
The NDP and Liberal parties have separately provided Elections Canada with independent claims of wrongdoing and attempts at voter suppression in at least 27 ridings. “There should be a full public inquiry to restore the public’s confidence in their electoral system,” Mr. Martin said. “It has been severely shaken by all this news. We want our government to fix health care, not elections for God’s sakes.”
Mr. Martin said the Conservatives are “running out of things to say” on the issue as new evidence is being submitted to Elections Canada every day. “This is the most fundamental freedom that a citizen in a democracy enjoys, the right to cast their ballot in a free and fair election without interference, without harassment, without intimidation,” Mr. Martin said. “These American style dirty tricks have been imported into Canada by the Conservative Party and their operatives and they’re getting caught, busted.”
After Mr. Harper earlier challenged the opposition to submit any evidence they had against the Conservatives to Elections Canada and after saying the Conservative party is cooperating with the elections agency in the Guelph investigation, NDP Interim Leader Nycole Turmel (Hull-Aylmer, Que.) read out two telephone numbers in the Commons that the party says were related to fraudulent phone calls in other ridings.
Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia (Lac Saint-Louis, Que.) added his own riding to the list of those where voters were told polling stations had changed, the first known so far from Quebec.
At a press conference last week in Nunavut, Mr. Harper told reporters he didn't know about the robocalls. "I have absolutely no knowledge on anything about these calls, but obviously if there is anyone who's done anything wrong, we will expect that they will face the full consequences of the law," he said.
Opposition MPs have questioned whether it is feasible Mr. Harper had no knowledge of the dirty tricks, since one of his closest political operatives and former aide in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jenni Byrne, was director of the Conservative campaign.
Conservative Senator Doug Finley, who directed the 2006 and 2008 election campaigns, was “director emeritus” for the election last year, sitting on the sidelines as an adviser following a battle with colon cancer.
Original Article
Source: Hill Times
Author: TIM NAUMETZ
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