CuriosityCat: Robocon: Guess who Sona will call as witnesses?

Michael Sona: Whom should I call?

Sona, charged with being the man behind the voter suppression robocalls in Guelph in the suspect May 2011 election, has, through his lawyer, repeated that he is not the personwho set up the voter suppression calls. His lawyer has called for a public enquiry into the mess (fat chance on that when our government is headed by a man who seems more intent on avoiding public debate of public matters). But his lawyer also said Sona now had the chance to state his say in court. Guess who I expect Sona to subpoena . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Robocon: Guess who Sona will call as witnesses?

Canadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Maude Barlow: Conservatives rejected again… next stop Federal Court!

by Maude Barlow | Council of Canadians The Federal Court rejected the Conservative Party MPs’ motions on security for costs against the ongoing legal challenges in the robocall scandal. You’ll remember the Conservative Party MPs called for the nine individual applicants to put up a total of $260,409 as a security deposit – an outrageous [...]

centerandleft: Conservative Transparancy Now Scientifically Proven to be a Joke

51st place isn’t necessarily always a bad thing. The 51st wealthiest person in the world, or the 51st smartest are blessed to be so lucky. It’s a placement they can be proud of.

When your country is ranked 51st on any list, it is unlikely to be a source of such national pride, especially when the ranking deals with freedom of information. Yet, that is where Canada stands, behind traditional openness powerhouses like Colombia and Niger.

Bev Oda Waves to Responsible Government | iPOLITICS/Kyle Hamilton

The Canadian government, its departments and agencies are given requests (Read more…)

CuriosityCat: The Council of Canadians’ Magnificent Seven

Canada’s Woodward & Bernstein, Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor, of Postmedia News, today bring us news about The Council of Canadians’ Magnificent Seven. In the 1960 western The Magnificent Seven, based on the 1954 Japanese film Seven Samurai, seven gunmen are hired to protect a small village in Mexico from a group of bandits.

The Council of Canadians is springing to the defence of Canadian voters, whose Charter rights to a free and fair vote were attacked by a group of bandits: A citizen advocacy group is asking the Federal Court of Canada to overturn election results . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: The Council of Canadians’ Magnificent Seven

CuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae and stopping the clock

CuriosityCat: Robocon: Was there a conspiracy and who conspired? The wide net of the law

So far we have 700 clear cases of complaints to Elections Canada about voter suppression acts in the May 2011 election. And we have 77 ridings identified where voter suppression complaints have surfaced. And now we have the CBC identifying 31 ridings where there were complaints of voter suppression: CBC News examined 31 ridings where such calls have been reported and found a pattern: those receiving those calls also had previous calls from the Conservative Party to find out which way they would vote. Was there agreement by persons currently unknown in those 31 ridings to conspire to break the . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Robocon: Was there a conspiracy and who conspired? The wide net of the law

CuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has one week to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock

Bob Rae – one week to go

And a study by a Simon Fraser professor finds that the robocalls could have affected the result of the May 2 2011 election:

In a new paper, a Simon Fraser University economist finds that robo-calling, if the phenomenon did occur, could have significantly influenced voter turnout and ballot results in the last federal election.

Anke Kessler’s discussion paper is available on her website and on Worthwhile Canadian Initiative, an economics blog…

“Ridings where voters were allegedly targeted by robo-calls — meaning they were possibly discouraged from voting or directed to the wrong polls

. . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has one week to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock

Red Tory v.3.0.3: Meh…

Count me amongst the 54% of Canadians who, according to a recent poll, rather cynically believe that the so-called “robocall scandal” is just “politics as usual” and therefore nothing terribly exceptional to be all that bothered about. Certainly nothing warranting an outraged, pant-bunching reaction such as that demonstrated on left-wing blogs for weeks now, let alone cause for actually marching in the streets…

Of course, that isn’t to say that such fraudulent electoral tactics should be condoned or go unpunished, but as Margaret Wente pointed out last week, “this fraud seems to have been engineered by the Keystone Kops.”

. . . → Read More: Red Tory v.3.0.3: Meh…

CuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has only 9 days left to defend our democracy by stopping the clock

And a study by a Simon Fraser professor finds that the robocalls could have affected the result of the May 2 2011 election:

In a new paper, a Simon Fraser University economist finds that robo-calling, if the phenomenon did occur, could have significantly influenced voter turnout and ballot results in the last federal election.

Anke Kessler’s discussion paper is available on her website and on Worthwhile Canadian Initiative, an economics blog…

“Ridings where voters were allegedly targeted by robo-calls — meaning they were possibly discouraged from voting or directed to the wrong polls — experienced an estimated decline in voter

. . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has only 9 days left to defend our democracy by stopping the clock

Paul S. Graham: Video Report: Winnipeggers demand Harper restore Canadian democracy

Winnipeg, March 11, 2012: Winnipeggers rally outside of Tory MP Joyce Bateman’s office demanding the federal government allow a full inquiry into the federal election robocall scandal. Photo: Paul S. Graham

While Prime Minister Stephen Harper undoubtedly wishes this issue would disappear, Canadians marched in more than two dozen cities today, demanding a full inquiry into the federal election robocall scandal. In Winnipeg, over 100 rallied at the corner of Osborne Street and River Avenue where organizer Josh Brandon expressed the sense of outrage that many Canadians feel about the undermining of Canada’s electoral system. Speakers Kevin Lamoureux (Liberal MP

. . . → Read More: Paul S. Graham: Video Report: Winnipeggers demand Harper restore Canadian democracy

Driving The Porcelain Bus: Crooks & Liars: Harper and his Conservatives and their Election Fraud

We’ve always known, via an ever-growing mountain of facts, that Harper and his Conservatives are crooks and liars. Will this election fraud situation be the addition to the mountain that will raise it high enough to fall over the wall of denial built by those gullible and ignorant Canadians who continue to vote Conservative against their own best interests?

At the moment, polls show that the Conservative core support still stands behind them. But a smoking gun has not yet been produced. Still waiting on the investigation by Elections Canada.

CuriosityCat: Robocon: Can this Tory help find Pierre Poutine?

Andrew Prescott

Canada’s Woodward & Bernstein journalists (the intrepid Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher), have a report this morning about some tweets in Guelph before the questionable election of May 2, 2011:

On the day “Pierre Poutine” activated the burner cellphone used to launch his robocall blitz on voters in Guelph, Ont., a young Conservative campaign worker sent out a message on Twitter warning of “voter suppression calls” aimed at his party. Andrew Prescott, deputy campaign manager to Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke, tweeted on April 30, “Anti-#CPC voter suppression phone calls currently underway in Guelph, suspecting #LPC #elxn41” . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Robocon: Can this Tory help find Pierre Poutine?

CuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has 12 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock

The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 12 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts under the Canada Elections Act to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings.

And Bob Rae, having identified 27 ridings where the Liberal Party has reason to believe that voter suppression of one kind or another took place in that election, is one of those who started the clock ticking. At the Ottawa convention Liberals were urged to be bold. Now is the . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has 12 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock

CuriosityCat: Robocon: Were our laws broken?

Misinformation is in the air, from the Tory front and back benches to journalists. Some is deliberate, designed to distract the public’s attention from misdeeds; others are perhaps simply mistakes. Take this opinion in the Montreal Gazette: Many of the complaints are about calls that were simply annoying and deceitful, in that they appeared to come from people posing as Liberal campaign workers but were intended to put people off voting Liberal by being made at awkward times and laced with rudeness. That’s dirty pool, but it’s not illegal. I beg your pardon? Misleading voters in an attempt to . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Robocon: Were our laws broken?

CuriosityCat: Roboscam: Bob Rae has 13 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock

The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 13 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts under the Canada Elections Act to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings.

And Bob Rae, having identified 27 ridings where the Liberal Party has reason to believe that voter suppression of one kind or another took place in that election, is one of those who started the clock ticking. At the Ottawa convention Liberals were urged to be bold. Now is the . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Roboscam: Bob Rae has 13 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock

CuriosityCat: Robocon: Crushing poll results for Tories on the voter suppression in the last election

Hat tip to Kinsella for pointing the way to this March 6, Angus Reid poll. Almost two out of three Canadians believe there were many voter suppression telephone calls during the May 2011 election (despite Tory MPs desperate attempts in Parliament to limit the criminality to one riding only – Guelph).  . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Robocon: Crushing poll results for Tories on the voter suppression in the last election

Driving The Porcelain Bus: NDP vs The RoboCall Scandal

The corporate mainstream media has been doing a pretty lousy job of giving fair coverage to the official opposition party, the NDP. Someone who didn’t know better might think the Liberals were still the official opposition party in Canada when reading the big daily papers (on-line or the paper copies).

To fill in the gaps on what the NDP has been up to in parliament with their concerns about the Election Fraud/Robocall scandal, here are some links:

Feb. 23, 2012 Use of dirty tricks to disrupt voters shameful – Harper must answer for use of voter suppression tactics by Conservative-linked

. . . → Read More: Driving The Porcelain Bus: NDP vs The RoboCall Scandal

CuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has 15 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock

The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 15 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts under the Canada Elections Act to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings. And Bob Rae, having identified 27 ridings where the Liberal Party has reason to believe that voter suppression of one kind or another took place in that election, is one of those who started the clock ticking. At the Ottawa convention Liberals were urged to be bold. Now is the . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Robocon: Bob Rae has 15 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock

CuriosityCat: Roboscam: The Cat’s Hints for Journalists

Journalists, wanna be modern day Woodward&Bernsteins?

Wanna rise to the top of the pack right now and make a name for yourself and your publication? Wanna get your name in the history books of those proactive members of the Fifth Estate who changed the course of history?

Yes? Then don’t hide your head under the lamp. Do something your competition is not doing. The Cat has some suggestions for you: Michael Sona – Speak to him, speak to people who know him, speak to Tory MPs who have publicly said things about him, speak to Tories who have some knowledge . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Roboscam: The Cat’s Hints for Journalists

CuriosityCat: Roboscam: Is this the smoking gun?

Deep Throat says: Stop the clock!

Hat tip to Saskboy for this bit of sleuthing (along with his many commentators and twitters): If the Conservative lie that only Guelph is the focus of the Robocalls (RoboCon) investigation, and Pierre Poutine worked only for some rouge op in Guelph, who in Guelph CPC had clearance to access CIMS at a high level and query non-supporters and undecided voters’ phone numbers, to provide that list to RackNine for Poutine’s robodialing fraud and other call centres like RMG who had live-scripted fraud? RCMP and Elections Canada investigators should know this by now, working . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Roboscam: Is this the smoking gun?

CuriosityCat: Roboscam: Bob Rae has 17 days to protect Canada’s democracy

The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 17 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts under the Canada Elections Act to upset the results of the May 2 election . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Roboscam: Bob Rae has 17 days to protect Canada’s democracy

CuriosityCat: Robocall: Is Elections Canada failing Canadians?

Disquiet is being voiced in several circles about the apparent tardy response of Elections Canada in investigating the voter suppression attempts that appear to have taken place in dozens of ridings in the May 2011 election. Take this response, for example: But the elections agency said the use . . . → Read More: CuriosityCat: Robocall: Is Elections Canada failing Canadians?