Voter Harassment Finally Comes to Light

When election time rolls around in either Canada or the United States, there isn't a lawn in town that isn't dotted with hundreds of election signs representing a myriad of political parties. Bumper stickers grace the cars of political enthusiasts, living rooms are invaded with aggressive slander campaigns and the news stations are buzzing with party coverage. An election, in theory, is representative of a shift in power and a totem for change. Canada is currently under the power of a majority Conservative government, that for the most part, is not only highly unpopular, but has attempted to pass some highly controversial laws.

But the latest controversy has voters screaming  foul when on May 2, 2011, callers from the Conservative Party were impersonating the Liberal Party and telling voters that polling stations had moved.  In ridings where the race was neck-at-neck between Liberals and Conservatives, voters were called all hours of the day and well into the late evening. The Jewish community in several ridings has complained that the fraudulent callers were harassing them during the sacred sabbath, a time when campaigners knew full well the Jewish voters would be home, and in in spite of Liberal MP's giving specific and public directions not to call these particular voters during this sacred time, they ignored orders.  Even Liberal MP Irwin Cotler was a target of the fraudulent calls! Where does the madness end?!

The question we need to ask ourselves as constituents, is where is the accountability? This of course isn't the first time our government has been accused of corruption, however, here in the free world, it's perfectly acceptable for a political party to use and abuse the very constituents they need to get the vote! The equation should be simple; If a political party isn't doing their job, or breaking the law, especially during the election process, why shouldn't their feet be held to the fire? Critics of the Liberal party argue that there is no way for the Prime Minister to know what's going on in every riding, and therefore can't keep tabs on rogue campaigners. Really? Is the public just supposed to digest that and move on? What if a legal assistant, working at a prominent firm gathered information for a case illegally, presented it to their boss, and it affected the outcome of the case in an untruthful way? They would be fired! Pure and simple! 

Much like the Bush Administration, the Conservative government here in Canada is nearing the end of it's tirade. Harassing voters in the comfort of their own homes, outside of regular business hours is at the peak of personal invasion. My hope is for Canadians to take a stand against voter harassment, and hold this current administration accountable.