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Report Election Fraud

This week we’ve seen mounting evidence of widespread fraud in the 2011 election. Now we need your help to find people who were directly affected, and lay the groundwork for possible new elections.

Over the last week we have seen mounting evidence of systematic fraud in the 2011 election. Now we need to learn the whole truth. Nearly 35,000 Canadians who have already taken action to protect our democracy. Together we can form a powerful fact-finding network, and lay the groundwork for possible new elections in the affected ridings.

Canadians’ confidence in the fairness and legitimacy of the last election has been deeply shaken. The news keeps getting worse. Call center employees have reported they were instructed to send misleading messages seemingly designed to stop non-Conservatives from voting. As the list of potentially affected individuals and ridings continues to grow, the NDP, Liberals and Greens have called for full investigations in all affected ridings.In response, the Conservative government has dismissed allegations of systematic election fraud as a mere “smear campaign”.

We need to help find the truth about what happened in the last election and use this knowledge to choose the best ways to restore the integrity of our democracy.

When this story broke last week, it started a 30-day count-down to begin court proceedings that could lead to new elections in the affected ridings. Our strategy may include legal challenges.

Were you, or was anyone you know, the target of any voter suppression tactics, or do you have any information about electoral fraud in your riding? OR, would you like to learn more about how you could challenge the result in your riding?

30 seat fraud:

The “robo-call” and voter-suppression scandal is rapidly threatening to become a full-blown political crisis for Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, with the number of ridings where dirty tricks are alleged to have skewed races in the last federal election climbing to almost 30.

The New Democrats and Liberals on Sunday both listed 29 ridings in which they claim voters were either misled by automated calls purportedly from Elections Canada about where to cast ballots, or where live callers misrepresented themselves as working for rival parties. In some cases, voters allegedly received harassing late-night calls.

30 seats targeted:

Be it coincidence or political calculation, Rickford’s Kenora riding also sits squarely on the Conservative’s list of 30 ridings that are at risk of being lost or possible to steal away. The list of so-called targeted ridings is central to Conservative Leader Stephen Harper’s national campaign, which started the election holding 143 seats, a dozen short of a majority government.

what a coincidence

demand a full public inquiry

While the pro-surveillance spin campaign whirs into gear here in Canada, it’s interesting to note that Western governments all happen to be pushing this shit at the same time.

• United States: Internet Providers to Save User Data Under Child-Porn Bill
• Australia: Phone, net watchers fuel ‘surveillance state’ fears
• United Kingdom: Phone and email records to be stored in new spy plan

do something

…and if you haven’t read 1984, this might be a good time to do so.

“either stand with us or with the child pornographers.”

– Harper Government

“The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.”

– Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf

do something

In the last federal election, 61% of voters cast ballots for change, but the vote split and our broken electoral system gave Stephen Harper a majority of seats in Parliament.

Now, if we work together, we can make sure our next government represents a majority of Canadians and fixes our broken electoral system. Here’s how we can do it:

During the next election, the NDP, Liberals and Greens can cooperate in key ridings to defeat Stephen Harper’s government, and then pass electoral reform to make Canada’s democracy work better for everyone.

We can do it, but only if we start now.

The NDP and Liberals are preparing to choose their next leaders, and cooperation is a major issue in these debates. We need to show the leadership candidates that thousands of Canadians are willing to take action to support cooperation for electoral reform.

This is a long-term campaign, but the first deadline is just days away - February 18^th is the last day to join the NDP to vote in this leadership election.

This could be the start of something big.

Last Thursday, we sent a message to the whole Leadnow community. We asked if you would support political cooperation between the NDP, Liberals and Greens to defeat the current government in the next election, and then pass electoral reform. Almost 10,000 responded. 95% said yes, with an astounding 72% “strongly agreeing”.^[1]

Now, as the NDP and Liberals choose their new leaders, we urgently need to turn that incredible support into real action.

Here’s the proposal: during the next federal election, the opposition parties agree to work together in key ridings to defeat Conservative incumbents. After the election, the NDP, Liberals and Greens cooperate to pass electoral reform and make sure our government better reflects the values and priorities of all Canadians.

Right now, both the Liberals and NDP are looking for new leaders. Cooperation is a major issue in these party elections, and your voice can make a big difference. To get started, we need thousands of Canadians to tell the opposition parties that we want them to work together for our common good.

The Globe and Mail - Building a Progressive Voice with Focus

When Jamie Biggar and his colleagues in Canada’s youth climate movement returned from the disastrous Copenhagen conference on global warming in December, 2010, they did so with a deep sense of betrayal and abandonment.

The adults charged with addressing the world’s climate crisis seemed incapable of setting aside personal agendas, domestic political considerations and petty international grievances for the sake of the planet. And it was increasingly apparent that 20-somethings like Mr. Biggar were going to be stuck with the unhappy consequences of their short-sighted inaction.

It was around this time that Mr. Biggar and his friend, Adam Shedletzky, began talking about starting up a political-action organization in Canada modelled on MoveOn.org in the United States. Since its beginning in 1998, MoveOn had morphed into a powerful, and deep-pocketed non-profit that advocates and campaigns for progressive positions on a range of issues.

And in March of this year, leadnow.ca was born.

With the collapse of the Occupy encampments and the future of the movement in doubt, leadnow could well emerge as an intelligent and more focused alternative to a leaderless association that never had an overarching strategy for success.

In less than a year, leadnow has attracted 60,000 members. The 28-year-old Mr. Biggar says the organization’s goal is to have half a million by the time the next federal election rolls around. While it is youth-led, leadnow strives to be a group that bridges generations.

“I think there is a sense, particularly among young people, that a lot of the systems and institutions in our society are really broken,” Mr. Biggar told me. “And there is a deep desire, I think, to work not just on becoming more effective within the system we have today, but also starting to look at how we can make it better, how we can create a more equal society, how we can achieve deep sustainability.”

Mr. Biggar says leadnow will be involved in two types of campaigns. One will be reacting to what the federal government is doing, holding it accountable on behalf of the 62 per cent of Canadians who voted for change in the last election. The other will be longer-term, more strategic efforts to bring about more fundamental changes. Electoral reform and economic inequality are two of the areas on which the group is focusing.

Leadnow has assembled an impressive list of advisers that includes the likes of Alex Himelfarb, a former Clerk of the Privy Council, and Beth Wilson, a managing partner at KPMG and one of the most powerful female voices in the country.

“We want to talk to people across political parties and try and create a values-based coalition of Canadians to bring about constructive change,” Mr. Biggar says. “We want to be a participatory, member-led democracy that people can trust. That’s what we’re trying to build here.”

sign up

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