Voter Suppression And Gerrymandering

Robert Reich does his usual fine job of warning about threats to American society and democracy posed by the entrenched interests who care nothing for principle and everything about the acquisition and retention of power:

Voting rights are under attack. States across the country have adopted voter suppression laws and the Trump administration could try to implement similar measures at the national level. We must stay vigilant. The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy.

Less Than Meets The Eye

Were average citizens given to much political reflection, they would realize that from start to finish, the 'Fair' Elections Act has been almost exclusively about both discouraging people from voting and suppressing the vote of those who do not fit the Conservative Party's target 'audience.' Even in light of yesterday's announced amendments, that remains the case.

While the Act has provoked a flurry of steady, relentless, critical coverage, both in mainstream and social media, to view yesterday's ostensible retreat as a real victory is to misread the situation badly. Two aspects of the bill will, I think, support my thesis.

First, and less contentious in the public's mind, is the fact that the Chief Electoral Officer is still fettered when it comes to encouraging people to vote. To be sure, the amendment is less Draconian than the Harper regime originally sought:

In the original draft, Bill C-23 restricted the CEO to communicating only where, when and how to vote, raising concerns of an attempt to muzzle the independent agency.

Elections Canada advertising would still be limited to the nuts and bolts of the voting process, but the agency could continue to fund third-party education campaigns with elementary and secondary school students.

In other words, the CEO is still limited to encouraging people who can't vote (elementary and most high school students) to vote. While that may or may not bolster future civic participation, it does nothing to prompt those of voting age to attend the polls.

Secondly, the issue that received the bulk of media criticism, vouching for those without an ID with an address, continues to be a problem.

First, a slight digression. As you will recall, Pierre Poilivre et al. have consistently ruled out the use of voter information cards as an acceptable proof of address. The argument, proven repeatedly to be specious, was that it contributed to voter fraud in past elections.

But think about it for a moment. As a voter, you present valid identification, such as your birth certificate or health card, and then attempt to use a voter information card to establish your address. The card is rejected because you could be perpetrating a fraud. How? Well, even though you have proven who you are, you might have moved into another riding, but you might have also gone to your old address, either broken into your old mailbox or house to retrieve the card, with the express purpose of deceiving Elections Canada.

Sound ridiculous? Of course it does.

But not to Mr. Poilivre and the rest of the cabal.

Like a dog that is regularly beaten by its cruel owner but is ever so grateful when that master/mistress gives it a few crumbs from the table, we are supposed to be ever so thankful for the following:

“The government will not support amendments to allow voting without a piece of identity,” Poilievre said in a press conference on Parliament Hill.

“(But) if someone’s ID does not have an address on it, they will have to sign a written oath of residence. Another voter with fully proven ID will need to co-sign attesting to that voter’s address.”

In other words, the voter is infantilized because he or she, lacking proof, not of identity but of address, must be in the company of an 'adult' who has the proper accreditation. Perhaps someone can explain to me how that does not just continue, in a slightly diluted form, the process of voter suppression of the young, the elderly or the homeless who may not be able to secure the proper accompaniment to the polls.

Watch the following video, as the oleaginous Minister of Democratic Reform tap dances around the truth of this bill. Unfortunately, his interlocutor, Rosie Barton, seems more interested in playing 'gotcha' than uncovering the truth about these very weak and very disappointing amendments. Start at the 10-minute mark:

I Nominate Him For A Nobel Prize

The category? That's yet to be determined. Any suggestions?

Well Worth The Read

I'm going to spend much of the day trying to finish off the bulk of my flooring project, so I shall merely offer some reading recommendations for your consideration:

In his Star column today, Tim Harper discusses the taint that will reside over every federal election henceforth if the 'Fair' Elections Act becomes law without significant amendments. He also discusses why former auditor-general Sheila Fraser's condemnation of the act is so significant.

Says Fraser:

“Elections are the base of our democracy and if we do not have truly a fair electoral process and one that can be managed well by a truly independent body, it really is an attack on our democracy and we should all be concerned about that’’.

As well, if you haven't yet done so, read Alison's latest post in
which, amongst others things, she reveals that Elections Canada has decided not to release its report on the Conservative robocall scandal until after the next election.

Finally, check out Kev's post in which he calls for a dramatic act of Parliamentary disobedience as a means of dealing with the Harperites' voter suppression act.

About Those 39 Pieces of I.D. Pierre Poilivre Keeps Talking About

H/t Canadians Rallying To Unseat Stephen Harper

To hear Pierre Poilievre speak, one might think that any Canadian who claims that the 'Fair' Elections Act could very well disenfranchise up to 500,000 Canadians in the next election is intellectually challenged. The ubiquitous Harper weasel, both in the House and on television, assures us that all the experts, both domestically and internationally, are dead wrong in all of their criticisms, since the bill will allow 39 pieces of I.D.* to be used at the ballot box, thus rendering vouching and voter information cards quite redundant.

But are his claims of our collective ignorance/stupidity/hysteria valid?

The CBC's Laura Payton did an investigation of the issue, with some very interesting results.

If you look at the list of I.D at the end of this post, you will see the problem. As Peyton points out, Canadians don't just prove their identity to cast a ballot: they have to prove where they live too.

I have placed an asterisk beside those pieces that do provide an address. One of the key problems with many of those forms of identification is that one would have had to have gone to the trouble of requesting such proof well ahead of an election (eg. First Nations attestation of residence, or such attestation as issued by a soup kitchen, shelter, student/senior residence, or long-term care facility); a second problem would be remembering to have it with you when going to the polls. How many would bother to line up a second time after returning to their residence to retrieve the required but forgotten piece?

But most people have a driver's licence, right? Says Payton:

... while Elections Canada says 85 per cent of Canadians have a driver's licence — based on the numbers they get from provincial licensing offices — that penetration drops in urban areas like Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, where better public transit systems mean fewer people require cars to get around.

What about things like insurance policies (which you are far less likely to have if you are a renter) or bank statements? Those are fine, says Peyton,

Unless, that is, the documents are delivered by email. [Don't forget we are always being preached to about the environmental virtues of paperless billing.] A printed version of emailed documents won't suffice. Instead, voters would have to go to the bank or the hydro or insurance company — or dig through their paper files at home — to find an original copy. And they'll have to know that before they head to the polling station to cast a ballot on the advance polling day or election day.

Curious as well, isn't it, that a voter information card, which contains one's address, isn't accepted as one of the two proofs required? Does the government believe dark conspiracies are afoot not only to steal the cards, but also people's other pieces of identity as well?

Given all of the criticisms levelled against this bill, criticisms that Poilievre has facilely dismissed as without merit, there is only one conclusion, in my view, to be drawn. Given those who are most likely to be excluded from easy access to the polls (aboriginals, the poor, the homeless, renters, the 'urban elite,' the young and the very old), people who are less likely to vote for the Conservatives, the Fair Elections Act is, unquestionably, legislation aimed solely at achieving voter suppression.

*Driver's licence
Ontario health card
Provincial/territorial ID card in some provinces/territories
Canadian passport
Certificate of Canadian citizenship (citizenship card)
Birth certificate
Certificate of Indian status (status card)
Social insurance number card
Old age security card
Student ID card
Liquor ID card
Hospital/medical clinic card
Credit/debit card
Employee card
Public transportation card
Library card
Canadian Forces ID card
Veterans Affairs Canada health card
Canadian Blood Services/Héma-Québec card
CNIB ID card
Firearm possession and acquisition licence or possession only licence
Fishing, trapping or hunting licence
Outdoors or wildlife card/licence
Hospital bracelet worn by residents of long-term care facilities
Parolee ID card
*Utility bill (telephone, TV, PUC, hydro, gas or water)
*Bank/credit card statement
*Vehicle ownership/insurance
*Correspondence issued by a school, college or university
*Statement of government benefits (employment insurance, old age security, social assistance, disability support or child tax benefit)
*Attestation of residence issued by the responsible authority of a First Nations band or reserve
Government cheque or cheque stub
*Pension plan statement of benefits, contributions or participation
*Residential lease/mortgage statement
*Income/property tax assessment notice
*Insurance policy
*Letter from a public curator, public guardian or public trustee
*One of the following, issued by the responsible authority of a shelter, soup kitchen, student/senior residence, or long-term care facility: attestation of residence, letter of stay, admission form or statement of benefits

Opposition To The 'Fair' Elections Act Grows

As a supplement to Montreal Simon's post yesterday on Jean Pierre Kingsley's appearance before the committee hearings on the 'Fair' Elections Act, you might want to spare two minutes to watch this report from The National on his concerns:

As well, here is a report that shows growing public awareness and discontent about the Tories' voter suppression efforts:

Thwarting Democracy, Ontario-Style

I recently linked a post to a story from the Star detailing how Dalton McGuinty, Ontario's Premier, has reported to his caucus the wooing of at least two more members of opposition parties in the hopes of securing the majority government denied to him by the electorate in the last provincial election.

It is perhaps not surprising the the response to Dalton McGuinty's corrupt gambit has been decidedly muted. With the national political landscape littered with politicians lying about the true cost of F-35 jets, election-tampering through misleading robocalls, and Harper-imposed limitations on debate over an omnibus budget bill that will covertly dismantle environmental regulation and lower the living wage, anything going on within the provinces must seem like pretty small potatoes to our intrepid journalists.

None of this, of course, excuses what is happening, which is nothing less than an attempt by Dalton McGuinty to achieve voter nullification/suppression, an insidious, corrupt and probably illegal pursuit under the Criminal Code of Canada. As reported in The Star, the following section is likely applicable:

“Every one who … purports to sell or agrees to sell an appointment to or a resignation from an office, or a consent to any such appointment or resignation, or receives or agrees to receive a reward or profit from the purported sale thereof … is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.”

Don't expect any arrests anytime soon, as the Premier continues to quite openly show his contempt for the will of the electorate that withheld a majority from his party in the last provincial election. Instead, expect more defections soon as politicians follow Liz Witmer's decision to abandon the political ship for a more comfortable ride on the gravy train.

Expect as well new depths of political cynicism from the public as a result of these self-serving decisions.

Toronto's Voter Suppression Protest

If you live in southern Ontario, you know that yesterday was a gift, with sunny skies and temperatures reaching about 15 degrees Celsius, surpassing normal highs by about 11 degrees.

A crowd of maybe 1000 gathered in Toronto's Dundas Square to protest the threats against our democracy epitomized by the voter suppression crimes of the last federal election, crimes that the ruling Harper Conservatives seem strangely indifferent to as they consistently impede and mock all efforts to uncover the truth.

As you will see in the pictures that follow, both the protest signs and the range of ages attending the protest bespeak a real concern on the part of a cross-section of Canadian society. After the pictures I have posted two links to local coverage of the event:

Click here to see how CTV covered the protest.

Click here for Star coverage, including viedo.

The Globe and Mail Continues to Debase Itself

What little is left of the Globe's reputation as a newspaper to be taken seriously has been unraveling rapidly in its non-coverage of the voter suppression crimes of the last federal election. Its editorial stance has essentially been one of convincing its readers that there really is nothing to see here, just move on and attend to your daily diversions.

The latest nail in the coffin of its journalistic integrity comes from that lazy pundit, Margaret Wente, who seems quite content to mock the concern being expressed country-wide over these crimes, essentially arguing that there is no evidence people were prevented from voting, so what's the big deal?

You can read the entire shameful parody of journalism here.

Canada's 'Newspaper of Record' Continues Its Defense Of Harper

The Globe's John Ibbitson says the Harper regime wasn't behind the voter suppression crimes because, well, because Guy Giorno and Stephen Harper say they didn't do it.

Seems like it isn't just the Conservative Party that has contempt for the intelligence of Canadians.

A New Tory Fantasy Excuse For Robocalls

He may not have anything else going for him, but at least Conservative backbencher Maurice Vellacott has a rich imagination.

More On Voter Suppression

The Globe has some interesting letters today on the voter suppression crimes of the last election. Of particular note is the first one, by an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria, who attended a campaign school presentation in which instructors "made it clear that robo-calling and voter suppression were an acceptable and normal part of winning political campaigns."

If you follow the link, you will notice that three of the presenters have, ahem, rather close ties to the Harper regime. The story keeps getting darker and darker.

h/t katie o'malley

Voter Suppression - March 11 Toronto Protest

As I suspect is the case with most political bloggers, I offer commentary and provide links to important stories because I love my country and am very concerned about the direction in which it is heading. As well, I am deeply offended when abuse of political power occurs. And, like many others who write, I always hope that something I post may influence the thinking of some readers to the point where they become more aware of and interested in the important issues confronting our country.

That's on a good day.

There are many other days when I wonder if I am just preaching to the converted, to people who already are very engaged in the affairs and issues plaguing us as a nation, and that my words don't really have the slightest impact on those who go about their lives blithely unaware and unconcerned about both their rights and their responsibilities as Canadian citizens.

In which case, of course, I and countless others are largely wasting our time.

I hope for Scenario 1 to be true, but I fear that Scenario 2 is closer to the truth.

My reflections today are prompted by the voter suppression crimes that have been so much in the news and dominating the political blogoshphere. In following both, I am left with the distinct impression that the issue has resonated with Canadians across the land. However, stepping back from the newspaper and the computer, I wonder if that is the case.

Yesterday, the first of a planned series of rallies was held in Vancouver. According to a Globe report, it attracted just a few hundred people, according to an unofficial police estimate.

Now, maybe there wasn't sufficient lead time to ensure a larger attendance, maybe the weather was bad, maybe people weren't aware of the protest. Or maybe people just don't care.

Other protests are being planned, one on Monday in Ottawa and one in Calgary and Toronto March 11. Here is a link to a Facebook page about the Toronto event, scheduled to start at 2:30pm, Yonge-Dundas Square.

While large attendance at these rallies may not move Harper, it is without question that small turnouts will simply embolden him to do even worse things to this country.

The responsibility to ensure that doesn't happen rests with all of us.

Are Canadians 'Mad As Hell' Over Voter Suppression Crimes?

Read a cross-section of opinion from the Star's letters and decide for yourself.

This one from the Guelph Mercury also merits scrutiny.

The Star Exposes Another Harper Lie

More and more, people are seeing the bald mendacity of the Harper regime. Despite their claims of electoral probity and refusal to use U.S. firms in their campaigning, it turns out that 14 Conservative (will the claim be made that they were rogues?) did exactly that by signing on with Front Porch Strategies, a well-connected Republican company during last year’s election campaign; one of them was the offensively pugnacious Dean Del Maestro, who has done a fine acting job feigning indignation over what he calls Liberal and NDP smears in the House of Commons. Interestingly, but hardly surprisingly, one of the events orchestrated by the company for Del Maestro turned into a smear campaign against Michael Ignatief.

The Star also reports how the Conservatives use the resources of the powerful Conservative global organization, the International Democratic Union (IDU), a coalition of member parties including the U.S. Republicans, the Canadian and U.K. Conservative parties and, in the Australia, the centre-right Liberals.

Perhaps of even greater note is the fact that Senator Doug (in-and-out-Conservative crimes) Finley is a deputy chair at IDU.

What is that old saying? If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas. Clearly, corporate entities need to vet their clients more carefully.

Exactly How Dangerous Is Harper?

That is the title of a piece written by Gerald Caplan, in which he opines that the Harper Conservatives are like nothing Canada has ever seen before, a party that refuses to follow the customs and practices of past governments, a party that sees politics as a form of warfare with, I suppose, the rest of us as collateral damage.

This brief excerpt offers an ominous intimation about the voter suppression crimes:

Those of us who wouldn’t trust Stephen Harper if he told us today was Friday have no doubt who organized Robo-gate. In fact, I’m informed by a former Conservative operative familiar with both the party and technology that there’s far more to be revealed in this saga.

You can read the full piece here.

Now This Is Getting Really Frightening

Despite the steadfast denials of Harper and his functionaries, along with the stalwart efforts of Dean Del Maestro at diverting public attention away from voter suppression crimes, Elections Canada reports that it has received over 31,000 complaints from Canadians reporting attempts to subvert their vote.

Even the true believers who discount any possibility that their party and dear leader could have been behind these crimes must be disturbed by the government's cavalier and combative reactions to the accusations, reactions which do nothing to acknowledge the sacredness of our democracy and everything to further alienate the citizens of this country.

UPDATE: Thanks to The Galloping Beaver for this important information.

Tory Strategy: I'll Huff and I'll Puff

... until I get my way. Judging by this story of Conservative misbehaviour in Etobicoke Centre on election day, it's not hard to figure out someone's favorite bedtime story.

The Bizarro World of the Harper Conservatives

When I was a lad (a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away), I was a devotee of Superman comics. There was something about the son of Kryton's thirst for truth and justice that appealed to my boyish sensibilities.

One of the components of the Superman universe was the existence of a bizarro world, a world in which everything and everyone was the opposite of life on earth. For example, they said goodbye when they arrived home, and hello when they left. For them, good was bad and bad was good .... well, you get the picture.

I couldn't help but think of that world today as I read the latest ploy by the Harper government, led by the parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Dean Del Maestro, to divert attention from the crimes of his party by insisting that Adam Carroll, the man the Liberals say is behind the Vikileaks 30 Twitter account, testify before the Commons ethics committee next week.

His reason? He doesn't believe that the Liberal confession constitutes the full story. This, of course, while he and his gang of Parliamentary thugs insist that Conservative hands are as clean as the driven snow regarding the robocon voter suppression crimes.

God these guys make me sick.

Doug (In-AndOut-Scandal Finley) Tells Us To Relax and forget About Robocalls

Senator Doug Finley, the mastermind behind the in-and-out crimes committed by the Harper Conservatives, and husband of the Tory's go-to-girl, Diane Finley, narrowly escaped justice in those illegal acts thanks to a plea bargain by the Conservative Party.

Now this same paragon of virtue is telling us to all rest easy, that any instances of (voter suppression) wrongdoing will be unveiled as isolated incidents carried out by local volunteers.

Thanks Doug. I for one can rest easier tonight, knowing that you are on the job protecting our democratic freedoms.