After a six-day federal court hearing, eight electors in six ridings have made a strong case that there was widespread voter suppression in the 2011 federal election that benefited Conservative Party candidates. They have asked the federal court judge to annul the results in the six ridings.
“The fact that the applicants have had their day in court is a significant victory,” said Garry Neil, Executive Director of the Council of Canadians. “It came despite the efforts of the Conservative Party lawyers to have the case thrown out and to drive up the legal costs, which are being paid for by the Council of Canadians.”
The other positive outcome is that Canadians are now very aware that vigilance is required to defend our democracy. Neil added, “Whoever was behind this campaign of fraud and voter suppression will be facing a far more educated public in the next election, or in by-elections that would result from a decision of the judge to throw out the results in these six ridings.”
In addition, new evidence has come to light because of the case. This includes the polling data from EKOS Research that showed that tens of thousands of fraudulent calls were made to Canadians and that they were targeted at non-supporters of the Conservative Party. Elections Canada has also released some of its evidence, which otherwise may have remained secret.
The Council once again invites Canadians to donate to this historic legal challenge at www.canadians.org/democracy247. “This is not the end of the process, since we need to retire the debt we have and to prepare for a possible appeal to the Supreme Court. We know Canadians stand with us and we ask you to contribute generously,” concluded Neil.
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