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Robocalls Quebec: Liberals Complain Of Robocall Attack Ahead Of Quebec Election Vote

Liberals Complain Of Robocalls Ahead Of Quebec Vote
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Quebec's Liberal Party issued a statement Monday saying forged robocalls have targeted French-speaking voters in the Quebec City area. The calls allegedly direct voters to a phone number and fake message.

"These fraudulent phone calls are the work of our ill-intentioned opponents," the statement says.

The party has filed a grievance with the Sûreté du Québec, and notified the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec.

The statement also says Laval, Que. has recently seen similar calling tactics, involving aggressive and false representation.

Whether the Directeur-général des élections du Québec's legal affairs department will launch a full-scale investigation is yet to be seen, The Globe and Mail reports.

The complaint comes one day before Quebec's provincial vote.

A recent Léger Marketing poll for QMI news agency indicated the Liberals sit in third place with 27 per cent of the vote. The Parti Quebecois led the poll with 33 per cent, and the Coalition Avenir Québec came in second with 28 per cent.

Allegations of illegal robocalls were made against both the Conservatives and the Liberals in the 2011 federal election. Elections Canada had received 1,394 complaints as of mid-August.

The Liberals have been fined $4,900 for calls made in a Guelph, Ont. riding. Allegations that Conservatives made calls posing as Elections Canada and misdirecting voters are still being investigated.

Read the full statement on the Quebec Liberal Party's website:

This morning we learnt that a series of fake robo-calls identified as the QLP are being made exclusively in english towards french speaking electors in the Quebec City region. These calls also refer to a phone number with a false message.

These fraudulent phone calls are the work of our ill-intentioned opponents.

We have filed a complaint with the Sûreté du Québec. We have also advised the telephone company whose lines are being used as well as the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec (DGEQ).

A similar strategy has been used over the last few days in Laval, with actual callers repeatedly calling electors with an aggressive tone while falsely presenting themselves as Liberals.

We ask that you be vigilant and advise us if you are the victim of these types of calls. We can be reached at 1-800-361-1047. These calls are fake and are obviously being perpetuated by an organization or individuals seeking to harm the QLP's campaign.

We strongly condemn these fraudulent and misleading calls.

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