Putin's Russia comes to Canada.

This email from Avaaz.org was in my inbox this morning.  I had heard a little about it.  Being off the beaten track has its disadvantages.  All I can hope is that the RCMP and the Election Commission nail Harper's hide to the wall over this. Harper needed a majority government so he could wreck the country and this is how he got it.

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Dear friends across Canada,

Thousands of voters may have been tricked into not voting in the last election, and investigators are currently failing to conduct a national investigation. Click below to tell Elections Canada and the RCMP that Canadians demand a real investigation, including an account of all election day robocalls -- then forward this email and ask friends and family to join the movement to save our democracy from fraud and corruption:

News reports have just revealed that callers supporting Harper likely misled thousands of voters in the last election. But we can undo this fraud, if investigators now work to find the truth of what really happened.

Last election, voters in as many as 45 ridings received misleading and fraudulent phone calls telling us to go to fake polling stations. New media reports show that this orchestrated attack on our democracy might have worked -- flipping seats to benefit the Conservative party and giving them a majority in Parliament. Elections Canada and the RCMP are, thus far, limiting their investigation to one riding and the members of one political party -- if we raise a massive public outcry they will be forced to expand their investigation to third parties and to dig into fraud across the country.

At minimum, our public officials should review all robocall contracts for election day, and we can make them dig deep in every implicated riding. Click below to demand Elections Canada and the RCMP act now to protect our democracy, then forward to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/election_fraud//?vl

On election day - May 2, 2011 - Canadians were inundated with dishonest phone calls saying that voting stations had been moved, then directing voters to a wrong location. Some of these callers even posed as Elections Canada officials. We need get to the truth and to do that we need Elections Canada and the RCMP to expand their investigation and ask the courts to reveal all calling companies’ orders for election day calls. These calls were likely so widespread that they could have actually changed the outcome of many close races!

We already know that Guelph was targeted by misleading calls and that this was part of a complex and pre-meditated plan. Some of the calls used a number tied to a disposable “burner” phone paid for in cash and registered to a Mr. Pierre Poutine on Separatist St., Quebec. A conservative staffer working on the campaign in Guelph has already resigned and if Elections Canada and the RCMP expand their investigation we can get to the truth and confirm full responsibility for all the election day fraud, in all 45 implicated ridings and beyond.

Our government was elected under suspect circumstances rife with reports of voter fraud -- but we can get to the truth. Click below to tell Elections Canada and the RCMP to expand their investigation:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/election_fraud//?vl

Millions of Avaaz members rallied together to win anti-corruption laws in Brazil and in India and now Canadian citizens can come together to rescue our democracy. We can’t let governments steal elections and if we take action today we can win back our democracy.

With hope,

Emma, Ari, Ricken, Laryn, Melanie and the rest of the Avaaz team

Sources

'Robocall' probe puts Tory campaign in Guelph under microscope (Montreal Gazette)
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Robocall+probe+puts+Tory+campaign+Guelph+under+microscope/6218191/story.html

Fraudulent calls a sophisticated attempt to disrupt an election (Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/election-fraud-probe-zeroes-in-on-tories-in-guelph/article2352420/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Politics&utm_content=2352420

Marketing strategist Stewart Braddick plays role in Conservative party’s electoral success (Toronto Star)
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1137730--marketing-strategist-stewart-braddick-plays-role-in-conservative-party-s-electoral-success

Harassing and misleading phone calls in 2011 federal election reported nationwide, Liberals and NDP say (Toronto Star)
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1137755--harassing-and-misleading-phone-calls-in-2011-federal-election-reported-nationwide-liberals-and-ndp-say

Robocalls scandal spreads across Canada as number of affected ridings hits 34 (National Post)
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/26/robocalls-scandal-spreads-across-canada-as-number-of-affected-ridings-hits-34/

30 complaints about fraudulent poll changes filed to Elections Canada (Global News)
http://www.globalnews.ca/elections+canada+complaints/6442590858/story.html

Elections Canada probed Tories’ Guelph campaign in November (Maclean's)
http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/02/28/elections-canada-probed-tories-guelph-campaign-in-november/

List of ridings hit by election calls complaints (CBC)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/02/27/pol-strange-election-calls-list.html