‘The scope of the issue’

The text of a new letter from NDP MPs Charlie Angus and Alexandre Boulerice to the elections commissioner.

Dear Commissioner:

I am writing to again follow up on our previous letters regarding allegations of voter suppression during Canada’s 41st General Election.

We have received anonymous correspondence from people telling us they worked for Elections Canada on Elections Day and witnessed suspicious activity. We heard a number of accounts about voters turning up at wrong polling stations, or people showing up at the correct polling station complaining they had been sent to a wrong location some miles away. We believe that your temporary elections staff with firsthand experience could provide invaluable assistance to your investigation and urge you to follow up with as many as possible, particularly in ridings where complaints have been received.

Furthermore, as this issue has unfolded, our offices have been flooded with accounts of events that occurred on or near Election Day. We have received personal accounts about misconduct on Election Day from ordinary Canadians looking to speak out. These many unsolicited letters, emails and phone calls are a testament to the scope of this issue.

To help your investigation, we are passing on reports we received of unusual and potentially illegal activities that occurred on or near Election Day in the following ridings:

*Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington
*Brampton-West
*Scarborough Southwest
*Eglinton-Lawrence
*Haldimand-Norfolk
*Nipissing-Timiskaming
*Lambton-Kent-Middlesex
*Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry
*Winnipeg Centre
*Winnipeg South
*Windsor-West
*Calgary Centre
*Edmonton Centre
*Lethbridge
*Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon
*Vancouver Kingsway
*Esquimalt Juan de Fuca
*Surrey North

You will find in Annex 1 more information about the individual complaints we received in these ridings.

We will continue to actively encourage anyone who experienced vote suppression activities to forward their information to Elections Canada.

Voter suppression not only violates the Elections Canada Act, it undermines the trust Canadians have in fair elections. Only through finding those responsible and holding them to account can we restore Canadians’ faith in our electoral system.

These dirty tricks have no place in our elections or in our country. The New Democratic Party will continue to support your investigation and encourage all in parliament to do the same to make sure you have all the resources, tools and investigative powers uyou need to successfully complete your probe.

Once again, if we can do anything to help with your investigation, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Charlie Angus, MP
Timmins-James Bay

Alexandre Boulerice
Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie