NDP Takes Page From Tory Handbook


Julian Wolfe
January 17th, 2012


What do Lise St-Denis and Irwin Cotler have in common? Apart from being Liberal MPs, they have both been attacked by their opposition using the dirtiest tactics available. The NDP has claimed for years that the Liberals and Conservatives were destroying democracy with vicious politics and offered themselves as an alternative. It appears that the “Fix(ed) Ottawa” that Jack Layton spoke of was hot air and unfortunately, it’s not the first time this blog has come to this conclusion.

The Conservatives hired a firm to send a robocall to impersonate the Liberal Party to garner support using an endorsement from a retiring MP. Irwin Cotler is still in the House of Commons sitting as an MP.

The New Democrats are taking the loss of Lise St-Denis, a new MP from the Orange Wave very badly. Not only are they asking for a bi-election in a system that votes for representatives – not parties – they are desperately trying to discredit her integrity as an elected official.

The NDP was behind a robocall campaign that filled St-Denis’s phone lines with calls asking for her resignation on January 12 and 13. St-Denis’s riding assistant, France Beaulieu, estimated that 300 to 400 calls paralyzed her office.

The NDP robocalls, hosted by Strategic Communications Inc., asked constituents to press one on their keypads if they disagreed with St-Denis’s decision to switch to the Liberals. Admittedly, NDP Spokeswoman Sally Housser said that 1,000 constituents were transferred with that robocall.

“We have no intention of abandoning the people in the riding who voted for the NDP and we plan to keep them informed and not abandon them even though Ms. St-Denis and the Liberal Party really have no respect for their democratic rights.

When MPs take unpopular positions and actions they should deal appropriately with reaction from their voters.”

Sally Housser, NDP Spokeswoman

Housser said the message didn’t indicate that the call came from the NDP and said the tactic was legal as it was used in the past. The numbers used in this attack will be used for future NDP fundraising campaigns. St-Denis is looking into her legal options.

“I find it immoral to block phone lines that belong to the government. They don’t have a right to do that. It is prohibited to use phone lines that belong to the House of Commons for political action.”

Lise St-Denis, New Liberal MP

Housser’s revelation comes a day after an interview with iPolitics where NDP’s Quebec Caucus Chair Guy Caron stated that the NDP wasn’t responsible.

“This is not our way of doing things so I would be extremely surprised if it came from us,” said Caron.

Not only are the NDP using dirty tactics, they are lying through their teeth to hide them. Shall the NDP lies and dirty tactics continue – you got what you voted for. The NDP don’t care about our democratic system, they care about advancing their agenda: power.

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   Categories: Cabinet, Electoral System, Featured, Liberal, NDP, Quebec

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