Thank you for your email expressing concerns about the recent Elections Canada report. This report, describing the use of illegal “robo-calls” during last federal election, has traced these calls back to a company that worked for the Conservative Party.
This extremely worrisome development is an attack upon our cherished democratic institutions and demands an immediate response. There must be a complete investigation to determine those who are responsible. Individuals or organizations who have conducted such egregious actions need to face jail time. Additionally, financial rebates for those specific elections must be cancelled and returned to Elections Canada. (Political parties who obtain a certain percentage of the vote in a riding can receive up to 60% of their expenses refunded via Elections Canada, and 50% nationally. Combined, this amounts to tens of millions of dollars for the Conservative Party.) Only through such strong measures will we create a meaningful deterrent to these actions.
The Conservative government has made continuous efforts to target MPs and opposition parties with unscrupulous tactics as a strategy to gain more voter support. Like you, I believe this is a disturbing trend that is driving Canadians away from the political process, and have condemned this in the House of Commons on November 22nd:
http://elizabethmaymp.ca/parliament/points-of-order/2011/11/22/telephone-calls-to-mount-royal-constituents
For more information on my experience and thoughts on this issue, I urge you to read my book Losing Confidence: Power, Politics, and the Crisis in Canadian Democracy. In this book, I focus on the changes occurring in Canadian democracy such as the use of attack ads and muzzling of scientists.