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Mr. Speaker: Can You Tell Them to Answer the Darn Question?

The non-answer I received from the government yesterday in Question Period regarding its pattern of "reprehensible" (the Speaker's characterization) electoral behaviour -- and failure to take responsibility for it -- arguably sets a new bar for avoidance and obfuscation on the part of the Conservatives.
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While former Speaker of the House Peter Milliken was fond of musing, "It's Question Period, not Answer Period," the non-answer I received from the government yesterday in Question Period regarding its pattern of "reprehensible" (the Speaker's characterization) electoral behaviour -- and failure to take responsibility for it -- arguably sets a new bar for avoidance and obfuscation on the part of the Conservatives. Indeed, what is perhaps most disturbing is the fact that the question was not complex, yet the government appears unable to give a coherent -- or even relevant -- answer.

I prefaced my question as follows: "I represent the riding of Mount Royal that was targeted with false and misleading 10-percenters before the election that the Speaker characterized as a breach of privilege. It was targeted again with these flyers along with false and misleading calls during the election. It was targeted with calls and misleading calls about my impending resignation after the election which was characterized as a 'reprehensible' act."

I then followed with the question itself: "This is not about the absence of evidence, but about the absence of responsibility. Will the government do the honourable and responsible thing and apologize for this pattern of reprehensible acts in my riding and against the integrity of the House?"

The response I received from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister was simply incredulous. It began, "Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party of Canada does not place intentionally misleading calls to voters. We simply do not."

How can the government assert this when the Speaker found that such false and misleading calls were indeed made to my constituents telling them that I had resigned? Is it now saying those calls were somehow accidental -- after the Conservative footprints were first denied and then explained as by the Conservatives themselves as being somehow justified on the absurd notion that they were "free speech?"

The government has yet to formally apologize either to me or my constituents, or the House as a whole. It has yet to accept responsibility for its wrongdoing -- wrongdoing acknowledged by the Speaker in calling such calls "reprehensible." Indeed, the calls are being investigated by the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA), and I welcome their decision to strike a complaints panel to investigate the matter more thoroughly.

The rest of the irrelevant non-response of the Government to my question -- one of many scripted non-answers it delivered in the House -- was to say that the Liberal Party "is conducting a smear campaign against members of this party without any evidence, completely baseless, that if it has evidence it should provide that evidence and information to Elections Canada. If the Liberals do not have any evidence of that, then they should apologize to the members of this House."

It is the Government that owes an apology for its pattern of reprehensible conduct in my riding, where the evidence is well-documented and has been so recognized by the House. Then-Speaker Milliken explained to the House on November 2009 in response to a Question of Privilege I raised with respect to the false and misleading mailings sent to my riding and signed by Conservative Ministers at the time: "I must conclude that the member for Mount Royal, on the face of it, has presented a convincing argument that the mailing constitutes interference with his ability to perform his parliamentary functions in that its content is damaging to his reputation and his credibility."

In December of 2011, Speaker Scheer ruled with respect to another Question of Privilege I raised in the matter of false and misleading calls to constituents in my riding: "I am sure that all reasonable people would agree that attempting to sow confusion in the minds of voters as to whether or not their member is about to resign is a reprehensible tactic and that the Hon. member for Mount Royal has a legitimate grievance."

With respect to the electoral process itself, these false and misleading flyers were disseminated yet again during the election. In addition, there were misleading calls made to my constituents, and complaints were made to Elections Canada during the electoral period respecting such calls.

By way of example, as it manifested itself in my riding, Jewish voters who were called on the Sabbath subsequently complained to my campaign; however, we did not call Jewish voters on the Sabbath out of respect, which is how we learned that something was amiss. Perhaps most disturbing is that these callers misrepresented themselves as originating from the Liberal Party, which was impossible since we did not make calls on the Sabbath.

One might well infer that given the documented Conservative involvement in the targeting of my riding -- both with false 10-percenters and with misleading calls of my supposed resignation -- that there was Tory involvement with these electoral calls as well.

Whether it be the false and misleading 10-percenters under Conservative signature, false and misleading phone calls during the electoral period on the Sabbath alleging that Liberals were calling, or false and misleading phone calls after the election implying I had resigned or was about to resign -- reprehensible practices that have been documented and so characterized -- the government has yet to accept responsibility. And indeed, it should be the one apologizing.

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