Look at which party is running scared of 'robocalls' . . . .

[Unknown]

Of the robocalls scandal. If the Harper Cons 'had nothing to lose' because they did nothing
wrong, wouldn't those ridings remain Conservative ridings? Looks like they have something to
fear . . . .
_____________________________________________

May 22, 2012

Conservatives seek to quash robo-call court challenge


Party claims no facts to back contention that 'irregularities, fraud or corrupt or illegal
practices' affected results in seven ridings
Seven Conservative MPs are moving to quash a legal bid to force new elections in their ridings,
arguing there is no proof that misleading phone calls unfairly swayed the results in their
favour in last year's campaign.

The motions from the Conservative MPs, filed late last Friday, are arguing that the attempts to
annul the results in their ridings in the 2011 general election are "frivolous and vexatious."

"There are no material facts pleaded which would support a finding that 'irregularities, fraud
or corrupt or illegal practices ... affected the result of the election' " in the seven
ridings, the motions state.

In addition, the Conservative Party is arguing that the legal bid to overturn the election
results was filed well after the 30-day limit.

The Council of Canadians, which is funding the legal bid to contest the outcome of the seven
elections, accused the Conservatives of being afraid of the process that is unfolding in front
of the Federal Court in Ottawa.

"They want to have this thrown out on preliminary grounds," said lawyer Steven Shrybman, who is
overseeing the file for the Council of Canadians. "Rather than to have the issues that we have
raised be determined by the court on their merits, they are seeking to have the application
dismissed."

The controversy surrounding fraudulent robo-calls has focused largely on the riding of Guelph,
Ont., which is the target of an investigation by Elections Canada. Last week, the Ontario
Superior Court also called for a new election in Etobicoke Centre, in west Toronto, following
complaints over voter-registration procedures.

But the motions to annul the election results in seven Conservative ridings, filed last month
by nine voters, offer another challenge to the ruling party. The complaints argue that
misleading, harassing and fraudulent calls made during the campaign had a clear impact on the
election, targeting progressive voters in a bid to help the prospects of the Conservative
candidate.

The seven ridings named in the motions are: Yukon, Nipissing-Timiskaming in Ontario,
Elmwood-Transcona in Manitoba, Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, Winnipeg South Centre, Don Valley
East in Toronto and Vancouver Island North. All were won by Conservative candidates by margins
of 1.3 per cent of the total vote or less, with the exception of the B.C. riding, which the
Conservative candidate won by 3 per cent.

The Conservative Party defended its efforts to quash the motions, saying last year's results
should stand. "This is a transparent attempt to overturn certified election results simply
because this activist group doesn't like them," Conservative spokesman Fred DeLorey said.

The Council of Canadians has commissioned a poll from Ekos, which found that voters in the
seven ridings were 50 per cent more likely to have received illegitimate calls than those in
106 surveyed "comparison" ridings, in many of which there have been no allegations of illegal
calls.

According to Ekos, about three times as many Liberal, New Democrat and Green supporters as
Conservative supporters claimed they were given false or incorrect information about polling
station locations in the last two or three days of the campaign.

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We hang the petty thieves and elect the greatest ones to public office.