Liberals upset with Tories over weekend tactics in disputed riding

The Liberals are expected to complain in the House of Commons Monday that voters in the suburban Toronto riding of Etobicoke Centre received calls accusing Liberal Borys Wrzesnewskyj of plotting to "overthrow" the vote there, and saying voters will have their votes "taken away" by a court decision.

Last month, Wrzesnewskyj, who lost the 2011 federal election to Conservative Ted Opitz by 26 votes, won a court order overturning the result in the riding because an Ontario Superior Court judge found at least 79 votes were suspect.

The calls, which started on Friday and continued through the weekend, started with the person saying they were calling for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, appear to have been voter-identification calls, designed to create a list of supporters for a byelection.
Last week, Opitz's lawyers filed a notice to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, challenging the ruling. If the court rejects the appeal, Optiz will lose his seat in the House of Commons and Harper will have six months to announce a byelection in the riding.

A poll taken on the evening of the court decision found Wrzesnewskyj enjoyed a 10-point lead over Opitz.

Conservative Party spokesman Fred DeLorey confirmed Sunday the party is contacting voters.

"We are doing calls," he said. "Though we are hopeful with the Supreme Court reviewing the case, as a political party we still must do our part to prepare for all possible outcomes."

DeLorey would not confirm that voters were told that their votes were being "overthrown" or "taken away."

The Liberals are also contacting supporters in the riding. On Friday, Wrzesnewskyj sent an email to voters asking for them to donate.

"We need to be ready for the worst Conservatives have to offer in Etobicoke Centre: improper phone calls, attack ads, and other voter-suppression tactics imported from the United States," the email said, and promised his campaign office would be a "Democratic Action Centre on the front lines of making sure the people of Etobicoke Centre get a free and fair election."

The email contained a link, asking for a donation of $5.

The judge who ordered the election result thrown out wrote that there was no suggestion of wrongdoing or voter fraud in the result, but Wrzesnewskyj has complained Conservatives did break the rules on election day, and has called for Elections Canada to investigate.

Conservatives point to the judge's ruling as evidence there was no mischief, and complain the democratic will of the voters is being contested.

Wrzesnewskyj said Sunday the Conservatives are spreading "disinformation" about the legal ruling.

"The court is actually there to protect the rights and interests of the electorate," he said. "We don't know who the winner was. And that's why the court called for a byelection."

Wrzesnewskyj said he hopes MPs ask the Conservatives to explain what they're doing in the House.

In November, Liberal MP Irwin Cotler complained his privileges as an MP were breached when Conservative callers in his riding suggested to voters Cotler might resign and open up the seat for a byelection.

Speaker Andrew Scheer ruled the calls did not constitute a breach of his parliamentary privilege, but referred to them as "reprehensible."

After Cotler complained, the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association initiated an investigation into the calls and the company that carried them out for the Conservatives, Campaign Research.

Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author:  Stephen Maher