Today is the seventh anniversary of the 2008 federal election, the first election in which robocalls were used in a fraudulent attempt to skew the outcome of the vote. It happened in the Saanich-Gulf Islands riding, and it鈥檚 a reminder of the need to be wise and wary as the 2015 campaign draws to a close.
In the days before the 2008 vote, thousands of calls were made urging people to vote for former NDP candidate Julian West. Caller identification information made it appear as if the calls were coming from the phone of Bill Graham, president of the NDP riding association.
They weren鈥檛. West had withdrawn from the race over a minor scandal, although his name remained on the ballot. And Graham had written to party members reminding them that West was not a candidate and that the party was not backing any of the people in the race.
Conservative Gary Lunn won the seat by a 2,625-vote margin over Liberal Briony Penn. West received 3,667 votes. It鈥檚 impossible to say what influence the calls had on the outcome of that election, but it鈥檚 conceivable that this sort of fraud could make a difference in a close race.
No conclusive proof was found as to who originated the calls.
The 91原创 Island robocalls incident was a precursor to a much larger scandal in the 2011 federal election, when thousands of automated calls were made to voters, informing them that the location of their polling places had been changed. The calls purported to come from Elections Canada.
The subsequent investigation initially focused on Guelph, Ont., but found that Elections Canada had received complaints about fraudulent or misleading calls in 247 of the country鈥檚 308 ridings.
In August 2014, former Conservative staffer Michael Sona was found guilty of violating the Elections Act in connection with the Guelph robocalls. The judge at Sona鈥檚 trial said it was unlikely that he acted alone.
Technology makes it easy to disguise the source of phone calls, often masking them by causing legitimate phone numbers to show up on caller-ID displays. Those who use this technology to persuade, deceive or mislead can be skilful in sounding official and sincere.
This has been a close election campaign, if the polls are to be believed. In many ridings, a few votes could make the difference between winning and losing. The battle is heating up, and the next few days will likely see increased efforts to persuade voters or, in some cases, to mislead them.
Elections Canada makes complete information on voting places and requirements available by phone or online, but never phones voters. If you receive a call from someone purporting to be from Elections Canada, it鈥檚 fraudulent. You might receive a call from something called the Voter Outreach Centre, but that鈥檚 an arm of the Conservative party, and by law, these callers are supposed to identify themselves as such.
Victoria-based 91原创s for Fair Elections and Fair Vote Guelph are co-ordinating a national day of action that will include a lunchtime rally in Centennial Square starting at 11:30 a.m. today.
The groups are seeking to have the 2008 and 2011 robocall scandals properly investigated.
Elections Canada needs to step up its efforts to identify and prosecute those who employ dirty tricks in trying to influence elections.
But the best way to combat election fraud is for people to be wise.
In their greed for power and position, some people will stop at nothing. Ethics is a flexible term in politics, so be suspicious of anyone and everyone.
