Conservative staffer linked to robocalls leaves post

Interim Liberal leader wants emergency debate in Commons

OTTAWA – A Conservative parliamentary staffer who worked on the Tory election team in Guelph, Ont., has reportedly left his post amid an Elections Canada investigation into fraudulent “robocalls” sent out during last year’s federal campaign.

According to Huffington Post Canada, Michael Sona – assistant to Conservative MP Eve Adams and communications director for Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke during last year’s federal election campaign – was fired. The CBC and CTV, however, reported that Sona resigned from his position.

A Postmedia News-ottawa Citizen investigation revealed this week that Elections Canada has traced fraudulent phone calls made during the federal election to an Edmonton voice-broadcast company that worked for the Conservative Party across the country.

Elections Canada launched its investigation after it was inundated with complaints about election day calls in Guelph, Ont., one of 18 ridings across the country where voters were targeted by harassing or deceptive phone messages in an apparent effort to discourage Liberal supporters from voting.

In Guelph, a riding the Conservatives hoped to take from the Liberals, voters received recorded calls pretending to be from Elections Canada, telling them their polling stations had been moved. The calls led to a chaotic scene at one polling station, and likely led some voters to give up on voting.

Sona made headlines during the Guelph campaign when he was accused of trying to shut down a special ballot on the University of Guelph campus.

Witnesses said he tried to grab a ballot box, arguing that the voting process was illegal.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Conservative officials have denied their party was involved in the robocall campaign and any attempt to mislead voters.

“Our party has no knowledge of these calls,” Harper told reporters on Thursday. “It’s not part of our campaign.”

Elections Canada traced the calls to Racknine Inc., a small Edmonton call centre that worked for the Tory party’s national campaign and those of at least nine Conservative candidates, including Harper himself in Calgary Southwest.

There is no evidence that Harper’s campaign or those of any of the other candidates were involved in the calls.

Racknine says it was unaware its servers were being used for the fake calls.

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae sent a letter Friday to House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer, asking him to allow an emergency debate on the matter when Parliament resumes Monday.

“In my opinion, this debate is necessary because denying someone the opportunity to vote is to deny them the most basic right that exists in our democracy,” Rae says in the letter.

“The suppression of voters can undermine the legitimacy and credibility of those elected to serve in Parliament.”