Misleading calls led to voter anger or worse
Elections Canada confirmed Friday it had received 31,000 “contacts” in respect of the May 2011 federal election. Increasing numbers of Canadians watched with disbelief as an unprecedented scandal unfolded through the week. Opposition parties have brought forward allegations of voter suppression and fraud. Media outlets are reporting details of incidents in more than fifty ridings across the country. We are hearing daily about phone callers who claimed to be from Elections Canada and who sent voters to the wrong or non-existent polling stations and other calls that were meant to harass voters into staying home or changing their vote. Then there was the Pythonesque “Poutine” burner phone used to contact a Robo call centre that had provided services for the Conservatives.
While all this makes great news, we should not expect the Government to fall tomorrow or see those responsible for any election rigging in court or going to jail anytime soon. It has taken Elections Canada almost ten months to sort through complaints received immediately after polls closed last May. Additional time will now be required to sort through the avalanche of new complaints. A great deal more work will have to be done before a decision is made to proceed with charges. If charges are laid, there will be trials with plenty of procedural detail and an appeal process sure to be pursued by the losers. All this will take time and the opposition can be expected to raise the volume on calls for blood if due process is seen to be impeded. All fair-minded Canadians want to get to the truth of what happened last May and will have little patience for anything that looks like a coverup.
The Harper Government tactic of deflection is understandable as is their counting on a lengthy process away from the media glare to dampen the furor. It was clear from the Prime Minister’s dismissive reaction last week that he plans to brave the storm and continue with business as usual. This strategy worked for him in diffusing the “in and out” election financing scheme, Minister Kenny’s fundraising on Government letter head, Minister Bernier’s briefing book lapse, and the allegations of doctored documents in the Bev Oda affair. Polls show that his core supporters haven’t abandoned him or his party yet. But that may not last if the party is linked to any wrong doing.
With the exception of the Afghan detainee torture issue the current election fraud allegations are an order of magnitude more serious than any faced by the Conservatives since they came to power in 2006. The Prime Minister’s tactics will postpone, but not solve, these latest problems. Outraged voters are unlikely to let that happen.
These tactics may give the Prime Minister and his government a short term deferral. However the trade off is that the Robo call controversy could see the spectacle of court action happening inconveniently close to the next election, which is scheduled for the spring of 2015. Procrastination is never a good response if there is something to be done that has no likelihood of resolving itself.
Going into that election in the midst of a major scandal will demoralize the conservative base just as the opposition is energized. Swing voters can’t be counted on to support a government in trouble and Stephen Harper may reach his “heartbreak hill” just as the opposition parties are readying themselves for a sprint to the finish. If the Government does nothing to accelerate the investigation and resolution of complaints, a steady stream of allegations that they interfered with Canadians’ right to vote will give the Opposition parties the high ground in their battle for the hearts and minds of those voters most offended.
The Conservatives say they have nothing to hide. In that case a judicial enquiry with a mandate to report quickly would allow the complaints to be properly heard and still leave time to implement appropriate remedies before the next election. Nothing less than this will dull the uproar generated by 31,000 election “contacts” or return any semblance of legitimacy to Prime Minister Harper’s Government.
