Widow decries ‘tasteless’ Tory calls
Wanda Keshavarz needed no reminders of the 10-year anniversary of her husband’s death when the day arrived a few weeks ago.
But an already sombre day for Keshavarz and her 18-year-old son took an even worse turn, she said, when a caller who identified themselves as a Conservative party volunteer phoned and asked to speak to her late husband, Cyrus.
Keshavarz said she has been complaining to the federal Conservatives about fundraising pitches aimed at her husband for years, but the call coming on the anniversary of his death from cancer at 57 was too much.
“I don’t know what else to do to get them to smarten up,” said Keshavarz, who contacted the Herald.
“It’s tasteless. It’s painful, it’s hurtful.”
Keshavarz also recently received a letter addressed to Cyrus, soliciting donors on behalf of party leader Stephen Harper. (She provided the Herald with a copy of the form letter and envelope addressed to Cyrus.)
Keshavarz said she has “lost count” of the solicitations from the Conservatives over the years. Although some phone calls have been automated recordings, Keshavarz said she has repeatedly informed volunteers who call her home that her husband is dead and asked them to stop phoning. Keshavarz added she has answered form letters with written requests asking not to be contacted.
“Do they look at my letter, see there’s no cheque and just toss it?” she said.
In an emailed statement, Con- servative spokeswoman Megan Murdoch said the party would stop phoning for Cyrus and sending letters addressed to him. “We regret this error and have removed the name from our system,” she wrote.
Keshavarz said she has no idea how her husband’s name got on the Conservatives’ contact list. Keshavarz said neither she nor Cyrus, who was a restaurateur prior to his death, have ever been Conservative supporters.
Generally speaking, federal political parties have access to voters’ lists through Elections Canada. It’s a common tactic for parties to use open sources, such as phone directories, to obtain additional information for listed voters and contact them for fundraising and campaigning.