As ever more revelations trickle out about the so-called robocall scandal, it can only cause more damage to the reputation of this country as what we as Canadians have always thought of ourselves to be — a paragon of democracy.
Little by little, this perception is being eroded by the tales of deceptive phone calls directing people to non-existent polling stations, rude callers pretending to be from a different party and voters being able to cast their ballot without giving a proper address — as is required under Canadian electoral law.
That doesn’t do anyone any good — not the aggrieved politicians who feel they may have been robbed, not the voters who believe they were misled, nor the government of this great country, which is currently operating under an increasingly dark cloud of suspicion and doubt.
It’s not only Canadians who are watching this sordid saga. People in other nations, some of whom looked up to Canada as an example worthy of following are also keeping tabs on the latest revelations.
Clearly, there’s not likely to be any rainbows or ponies coming out of this political cauldron, but the damage it does can be at least somewhat lessened by taking a few bold steps and taking them as quickly as possible.
The first of these has to be the release of any documentation, whether it be electronic or on paper, that can shed light on what really happened and who was responsible.
Then, when everything is on the table for all to see, those implicated in electoral wrongdoing should be punished under the fullest weight of the law. This is not small potatoes. This is our democracy we’re talking about here.
To let this mess fester any longer than absolutely necessary will only further erode our reputation as a truly democratic nation.
Lets avoid that if we can. Stop the stonewalling and lets get to the bottom of this — and let the chips fall where they may. — editorial by Neil Horner
