ConCalls: “Categorically False” #RoboCon

Andrew Langhorne, COO of RMG has claimed in court documents that his business did not do what was stated in another affidavit made by a former employee of his company. A Twitter account that appears to be his, has only three tweets, all re-tweets of people saying RMG didn’t participate in illegal voter suppression phone calls.

What I think is most interesting is that he admits RMG told voters where to vote [link added Nov. 5, ’12] in their script, despite explicit direction from Elections Canada not to do so. Also important to recognize is that the script means ridings were called where no changes were made at all, so there would have been no legitimate or sensible reason to include that portion in calls made to 6 of the 7 challenged ridings.

In order to avoid confusion during the campaign, Elections Canada asked all the parties not to give voters the addresses of polling stations. The agency has advised the council that polling stations were moved in only one of the seven ridings in the lawsuit.

So Langhorne’s claim looks totally bogus and self serving to me. Since we know there were illegal live calls made in the country, where did they come from, if not from a company where a former employee has sworn in court documents that she and others were told to make them by her former employer? Who else had the capacity and capability to phone Conservative non-supporters with misleading poll information? Where’s the other smoking gun? You’d think Langhorne would have hired a Private Investigator even by now to find that other phone calling rogue, since his butt is on the line?

The Conservatives have filed several motions seeking to have the case thrown out of court.

Last month, federal prothonotary Martha Milczynski rejected one such motion, which argued that the case was frivolous and vexatious: “Far from being frivolous or vexatious, or an obvious abuse, the applications raise serious issues about the integrity of the democratic process in Canada and identify practices that, if proven, point to a campaign of activities that would seek to deny eligible voters their right to vote and/or manipulate or interfere with that right being exercised freely.”

When will this super-important case be decided? Well, not until this Winter, at a yet to be determined date. WTF? Our country’s democracy is up in the air, and the courts are going to wait for four season changes since the story broke into the mainstream last February, before they hear part of the case? That’s so frucking ridiculous; as if they could possibly have something more urgent than the legitimacy of our federal government!

In a five-day hearing this winter, yet to be scheduled, the lawyers will also discuss another Conservative motion that seeks to stop the case because of “champerty of maintenance,” a legal doctrine that forbids parties from interfering in third parties’ lawsuits. The Conservatives filed a 690-page affidavit in support of that application.

Earlier this month, Conservative lawyers opposed a motion for Shyrbman that seeks to have Elections Canada produce evidence about its investigation into deceptive calls in the last election.

“Tories trying to block new evidence”
How can a national news headline contain that phrase, and there not be nation-wide alarm and outrage? I’m still deeply concerned our country has been lost.

The Conservatives also now want deposit money to be paid for the Federal Court to hear the case. A quarter million dollars are required to keep Canada a democracy? Will a political party step up to fund this surety? Are they allowed?

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Meanwhile Dean Del Mastro appears to be getting away with writing big unexplained cheques to his campaign, and allegations that his campaign paid people to donate money.