Finally an update on the Robocall Scandal!

Leave it to Maude Barlow to stick to her guns when most other Canadians have stopped paying attention. The Council of Canadians, the organization that Maude Barlow chairs, is refusing to let the federal government sweep the robocalls scandal under the rug. The Council of Canadians is backing 9 Canadian voters who are challenging 7 conservative MPs for their involvement in the scandal. However, lawyers for these 7 MPs have said asked the challengers to put up $250,000 to cover the MPs' costs in case the challengers lose. Can they even do that?! These 9 voters are the same people who last week applied for Elections Canada to release more information about the situation to the public. Surprise, Surprise... They were denied.

I think it's extremely sad that so many Canadians are not bothered by this. If it was the other way around, there is no way that the conservatives would let this slide if they thought the NDP or Liberals were cheating. Stephen Harper barely secured a majority government in the last election. The National Post reported that at least 34 ridings were affected by robocalls. For a country with such a small population, 34 ridings are a lot to mess around with.


Some people have said that we need to stop "whining" about robocalls. For those people who might not see how blatantly deceptive these calls were, here is an actual transcript from one of the calls:

"This is an automated message from Elections Canada. Due to a projected increase in voter turnout, your poll location has been changed. Your new voting location is at the Old Quebec Street Mall, at 55 Wyndham Street North. Once again, your new poll location is at the Old Quebec Street Mall, at 55 Wyndham Street North. If you have any questions, please call our hotline at 1-800-443-4456. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. (French version recorded in another woman’s voice follows.)”

That message was left to a voter in Guelph on election day. Weird, huh? Because Elections Canada claims they never made such calls.

I think that all Canadians need to be more concerned with this situation. Because if it's ok to let the conservative party cheat and get away with it scot-free, what is to stop candidates in the next election to follow in their footsteps? Maybe next election, the Liberal party will think of an even sneakier way to steal votes. If Harper can do it, why can't they? Why can't the Green Party? The NDP? Is that really the precedent we want to set for Canadian democracy? I sincerely hope not. Good on ya, Maude. People will always call you crazy when they are trying to cover up a scandal. Keep stirring up the conversation until justice is served and our democratic system that we hold so dearly is protected and restored to what it once was.