Council of Canadians calls for bill to be scrapped and report to be released
A new Postmedia story confirms that, as a result of the controversial Unfair Elections Act, Elections Canada’s report on the widespread deceptive phone calls that took place in 2011 might not be released until after the 2015 election, if ever.
“This is appalling. In a disturbing parallel to the 1972 break-in at the Watergate office complex, Harper is trying to break into our democratic system with this legislation to cover-up the truth about what happened during the 2011 election from ever coming out. And so far it’s working,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “With this Election Fraud Cover-up Act, this Votergate, Harper has lost the right to govern. This is outrageous and there should be an immediate election over it. Any Conservative MP supporting this bill should take a long look in the mirror.”
The Unfair Elections Act is a cover-up in two ways: first as a distraction from the unanswered questions about the 2011 election fraud, and second as means to deny voters timely information about election fraud should it happen again. The real impact of the Unfair Elections Act extends beyond the widely and justifiably criticized provisions that would suppress votes to include suppressing the truth in the robocall scandal.
“We know there was widespread fraudulent activity in at least 247 ridings directing people to the wrong polling stations during the 2011 election. We know it was targeted at non-Conservative voters, and that it reduced voter turnout. We know that the likely source of the information used to make those calls was the Conservative Party’s CIMS database,” says Barlow. “We know that the Harper government has a long history of anti-democratic behaviour. And now we know that the Unfair Elections Act is effectively covering up the 2011 election fraud. If the Conservatives weren’t behind what happened in 2011, what are they hiding?”
The vote on the Unfair Elections Act in the House of Commons is expected on May 1, the same day three years ago that most of the fraudulent phone calls were made to thousands of Canadians telling them to go to the wrong poll.
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