• Français
FacebookTwitterYoutubeInstagram
Find Your Local Union
Subscribe to E-news
 
Login
Contact

UFCW Canada - Union Logo

Canada's Private Sector Union

  • About Our Union
  • Media & News
  • Resources
  • Issues
  • Action Centre
  • Join the Union

Blog

Conservatives caught lying again

  • Print

Ottawa - March 11, 2014 – The Harper Conservative gang has had a rough week trying to justify the changes they have proposed to Canada’s Elections Act through their deceitfully titled Bill C-23, The Fair Elections Act.

Every day more and more Canadians are seeing the bill for what it really is: an attempt by Harper and his cronies to suppress the vote, muzzle Elections Canada, and rig the rules in the Conservatives' favour prior to the next election.

For weeks now the Harper propaganda team has been trying to convince Canadians that voter fraud is rampant and that the changes they are proposing – eliminating the use of Voter ID Cards (VICs) and the ability to vouch for another voter – are the cure. Conservative MP Brad Butt, a member of the committee studying the bill, wove a tale that he had witnessed VICs being stolen from recycling bins to be used to commit fraud. Butt was compelled to retract his completely fabricated story, but despite his apparent breach of parliamentary privilege, his fellow Harperites voted down a motion to have a House committee investigate Butt’s lie.

Harper hand-puppet and Minister for Democratic Reform, Pierre Poilièvre, continues to misrepresent a report issued by Harry Neufeld to back his claim of rampant voter fraud. Neufeld, the former Chief Electoral Officer for British Columbia, was commissioned by Elections Canada to review compliance with the rules for voting in the 2011 federal election, after challenges to the results in the Toronto riding of Etobicoke Centre. In his report Neufeld concluded that there were serious administrative problems, but never did he suggest that ineligible voters were trying to deliberately cast illegal ballots. Even the Supreme Court ruling on the Etobicoke Centre case specifically stated that there was no evidence of voter fraud. Neufeld has even suggested that Poilièvre may want to read his report in full.

But when have facts or science ever gotten in the way of the Harper mob? From Butts’ fairy tale, to Poilièvre’s misrepresentation of the facts, Conservatives only have lies and mistruths in their attempt to justify the very dangerous changes they are making to how we conduct elections. The focus on the threat of voter fraud is not supported by the facts. There is no threat, and the government’s insistence that controversial changes are needed to eliminate this non-existent terror makes no sense.

Thousands of legitimate voters – especially, seniors, aboriginal Canadians, and youth who are most likely to rely on VIC’s and vouching to vote – risk being disenfranchised by Bill C-23, encouraging even lower voter turnouts. The problem isn’t that too many people are voting numerous times; it is not enough are voting even once. 

  • <<< Issues
  • Political Action
    • UFCW Votes 2021
    • COVID-19 Support
    • Political Action Committee
    • Submissions & Research Papers
    • Politics Blog
    • webCampus Courses
    • How to Lobby Your Elected Official
    • Election Watch
    • News
  • Join the Union
  • About Our Union
    • About Our Union
      • Find Your Local Union
      • National President
      • National Council
      • Constitution
      • Union History
      • Mission Statement
      • Annual Reports
      • Join UFCW Canada
  • Media & News
    • Media & News
      • News
      • Media
      • Subscribe to E-news
  • Resources
    • Resources
      • Union Training & Scholarships
      • Health & Safety
      • The National Defence Fund
      • Member Discounts
      • Great Canadian Food Products
      • UFCW Canada Equity Grant Program
  • Issues
    • Issues
      • Leukemia Fundraising
      • Political Action
      • Women and Gender Equity
      • Social Justice
      • The Union for Agriculture Workers
      • UFCW Pride – Union Pride!
      • Young Workers
      • Food Justice
      • Global Solidarity
      • Uber Drivers United
      • Conscious Cannabis
  • Action Centre
    • Action Centre
      • Make Truth and Reconciliation a Statutory Holiday
      • Support the Passing of the Bill C-22 and the Canada Disability Benefit
      • Take Action to Protect Farm Workers and Canada’s Food Supply
      • Make Child Care Accessible for all and Protect the Child Care Workforce
      • Stop the Hate! Support an anti-racist COVID-19 recovery
      • Help support justice for First Nations children in Canada
      • Support the expansion of EI benefits
      • Tell Sobeys to protect workers and ditch toxic receipts
      • Save The Beer Store
      • Help close the Gender Wage Gap today
      • #NoMore campaign to end gender-based violence
  • Join the Union
    • Join the Union
      • Why UFCW Canada
      • Union Advantage
      • Union Facts
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Everything About Unions
      • Industries We Represent
      • Workplaces We Represent
      • How to Join a Union
      • Join Now

Login

FacebookTwitterYoutubeInstagram

Copyright © 2023 UFCW Canada. All Rights Reserved
United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Canada's private sector union