Statement by New Democrat Leader Nycole Turmel on the investigation by Elections Canada
New Democrats welcome the investigation by Elections Canada into
the tens of thousands of complaints they received about election
suppression activities during the last federal election.
As we have said from the start, New Democrats will do everything we can to help this investigation and have been sharing information we receive with Elections Canada. We regret the approach the Prime Minister and the Conservative Party have taken. They have tried to mislead Canadians. They have tried to blame the opposition. They have refused to take any responsibility—as they did with the in-and-out scandal, where they claimed total innocence right up to the moment when they pled guilty.
Canadians are sick of these scandals. Conservatives promised to clean up Ottawa scandals, instead they have just added new scandals of their own. Worst of all, Conservatives have tried to smear the tens of thousands of Canadians who have come forward with complaints of election suppression and harassment. Serious allegations are being made by well-meaning Canadians. Conservatives must stop their obfuscation and come clean about their role.
We call on Stephen Harper to direct the Conservative Party to immediately come forward and hand over all evidence they have to Elections Canada and the RCMP. This must include all documents related to the work they did with the firms RackNine, Responsive Marketing Group and Campaign Research, as well as any other firms that worked on direct communication with voters during the last election.
Honest answers are needed to restore faith in our electoral process. If the Prime Minister persists in using the reprehensible tactics he did during this week’s Question Period, if he continues to try and make a farce out of serious allegations while refusing to investigate the Conservative Party and hand over all relevant documents, there will be no choice but to call a public inquiry.
Ottawa is broken. But Canadian families can count on New Democrats to fix it.
As we have said from the start, New Democrats will do everything we can to help this investigation and have been sharing information we receive with Elections Canada. We regret the approach the Prime Minister and the Conservative Party have taken. They have tried to mislead Canadians. They have tried to blame the opposition. They have refused to take any responsibility—as they did with the in-and-out scandal, where they claimed total innocence right up to the moment when they pled guilty.
Canadians are sick of these scandals. Conservatives promised to clean up Ottawa scandals, instead they have just added new scandals of their own. Worst of all, Conservatives have tried to smear the tens of thousands of Canadians who have come forward with complaints of election suppression and harassment. Serious allegations are being made by well-meaning Canadians. Conservatives must stop their obfuscation and come clean about their role.
We call on Stephen Harper to direct the Conservative Party to immediately come forward and hand over all evidence they have to Elections Canada and the RCMP. This must include all documents related to the work they did with the firms RackNine, Responsive Marketing Group and Campaign Research, as well as any other firms that worked on direct communication with voters during the last election.
Honest answers are needed to restore faith in our electoral process. If the Prime Minister persists in using the reprehensible tactics he did during this week’s Question Period, if he continues to try and make a farce out of serious allegations while refusing to investigate the Conservative Party and hand over all relevant documents, there will be no choice but to call a public inquiry.
Ottawa is broken. But Canadian families can count on New Democrats to fix it.
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