OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives likely will learn next week if they breached the parliamentary privileges of Liberal MP Irwin Cotler by spreading erroneous reports in his Montreal riding about his resignation.The ruling by House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer comes in the wake of growing complaints that the Tories have engaged in a "dirty tricks" campaign to destabilize Cotler, possibly to force a byelection and pave the way for a Conservative candidate who nearly won the coveted Mount Royal riding in the recent general election.
The Tories hired a polling company with links to senior Conservative MPs to conduct a survey in Cotler's riding — asking people in a phone blitz last month who they would vote for in the next election.
The Liberals say Mount Royal constituents who received the calls, and who asked for an explanation, were flatly told that Cotler had either quit or that his resignation was imminent — a tactic that he says has caused public confusion and has made it difficult for him to perform his duties.
The veteran MP, a former justice minister, was elected in May to a four-year term that doesn't end until the next general election in October 2015. He says he's not going anywhere, and that no MP should be subjected to such "false and misleading" polling tactics that interfere with his work.
"People can still discuss politics and people can still traffic in rumours, however distasteful that may be," Cotler told the Commons. "But the line is crossed when false, misleading and prejudicial information is presented as if it were fact."
The Tories have a different story. They say the polling firm was hired to "identify" potential supporters for the next election and that people who received the calls were merely told, if they asked, that there had been rumours of a potential byelection.
Senior cabinet ministers and Tory MPs have stood in the Commons to justify this tactic to Scheer, saying the actions of the Conservative party in this instance have nothing to do with the business of Parliament. As well, Peter Van Loan, the Government House leader, has warned that if Scheer rules against the Tories, it will strike a blow against free speech — a defence that opposition MPs have ridiculed.
At the forefront in putting forward the Tories' defence is rookie New Brunswick MP John Williamson, who previously, was Harper's director of communications in the Prime Minister's Office.
"Those calls were within the bounds of typical political discourse," Williamson told the Commons. "In no way did the Conservative party say that he had or would quit, only that he might."
"I, for one, would concede that political parties cannot say whatever they want and there must be some element of truth. Nothing here crossed the line, and although the calls were perhaps tough, they were still acceptable in the day-to-day world of political jockeying."
Meanwhile, Heritage Minister James Moore's office reportedly has hired Saulie Zajdel, Cotler's Tory opponent in the last election.
Cotler has complained Zajdel is now acting as a "shadow MP" by going into Montreal communities and offering city councillors help in seeking federal grants and services.
On Friday, Moore's spokesman, Sebastien Gariepy, said the minister's office would not answer questions on the matter.
"We do not comment on internal staffing issues," he said in an email.
If Scheer rules there has been a prima facea case of Cotler's privileges being abused, the MP likely will then ask for a Commons committee to investigate. But this would require a vote in the House, and it's uncertain if the Tories — with their majority — would block a probe.
The first hint of the Tories' polling came on Nov. 10, when aides in Cotler's Montreal office began receiving the first of many calls from constituents who had been contacted by the polling firm.
It was quickly learned, through call display features on the constituents' phones, that the calls had come from a firm called Campaign Research. Among the firm's senior members are Nick Kouvalis, who polled for Rob Ford in his successful bid for the Toronto mayoralty in 2010, and Richard Ciano.
Ciano was vice-president of the federal Conservative party from 2005-2008 and has served as campaign manager for prominent politicians — including Van Loan. He was also the pollster and senior strategist for Ford in his mayoralty bid.
Ciano is now running to be president of the Ontario Progressive Conservative party and received endorsements from several politicians, including federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who describes him as a "diligent political organizer with a successful track record."
Campaign Research, founded by Ciano in 2003, says on its website that its pollsters can help parties employ "voter identification" as a key foundation of a successful election campaign.
"Knowing who your supporters are, where they live, and what their hot button issue is can give you a significant edge over your competition," says the company.
"Having identified hundreds of thousands of voters in the past years, our voter ID methodology is second to none and has been crucial in delivering both close and landslide victories."
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Source: Canada.com
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