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The Conservatives have admitted being responsible for recent “robocalls” to Saskatchewan residents, claiming an “internal miscommunication” led to the calls going out.
The calls asserted that proposed changes to the boundaries of the province’s federal electoral ridings would endanger “Saskatchewan values.” The Conservatives currently hold 13 of the 14 seats in Saskatchewan.
The province’s lone opposition MP in Ottawa, Liberal Ralph Goodale, told CBC news yesterday, “It really is appalling behaviour … they were clearly trying to manipulate public opinion in Saskatchewan in the wake of the boundaries commission draft report.”
Before the Conservatives’ admission, Goodale had filed a formal request to the CRTC to investigate the calls.
The reaction of NDP House Leader Nathan Cullen was reported in the Regina Leader-Post: “The whole purpose of independent electoral commissions is to avoid perceptions of political parties ‘gerrymandering’ the electoral map for their partisan benefit … It’s always total war and the ethic is winning at all costs.”
As recently as last Friday, the Conservaties had denied they were behind the Saskatchewan robocalls.
An editorial published in the StarPhoenix on Monday, before the admission of responsibility, strongly condemned the robocalls: “No matter who is behind a recent mysterious robocall poll that was meant to solicit the view that the proposed redistribution of federal constituencies offends ‘Saskatchewan values,’ it’s an odious attempt to distort public opinion for political advantage.”
Photo: JMacPherson / flickr
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