Harper privately met Brampton sign vandals, photos show

[twizz]

Birds of a feather flock together.

Harper privately met Brampton sign vandals, photos show

October 16, 2015 Elections, Front Page, Government

Prime Minister Stephen Harper privately met the men caught on tape vandalizing Liberal and NDP signs while putting up signs for the Conservative candidate, photographs show.

The men, who have been identified as Balkar Jhutti and Harvinder Rai of Brampton, Ontario, privately met Harper at the premises of a company owned by Jhutti, a Conservative donor.

Harper had been visiting the Brampton Centre riding to support Conservative incumbent Bal Gosal, the candidate whose signs the vandals were putting up while tearing down the opponents’ ones.

“I don’t care,” one of the vandals is heard saying after being caught in the act and confronted by a Liberal volunteer. “I’m doing my job”.

“I am shocked and disappointed that the Conservative Campaign has descended to over the top attacks and vandalizing opponents’ signs,” the riding’s Liberal candidate Ramesh Sangha said. “There is no place for these types of actions in our community.”

Sangha’s team reported the incident to the local police and sent a letter of complaint Elections Canada for further investigation.

“This is not how democracy works in Canada and certainly not in Brampton,” Sangha added. “I am calling on Bal Gosal to immediately apologize for and cease these dirty election tactics.”

“Under Stephen Harper, Conservatives have broken election rules in every election,” Sangha add. “The Liberal team remains focused on bringing positive change to the people of Brampton Centre. We will not be discouraged by dishonest Conservative election tactics.”

“It’s unfortunate that after such a long campaign, this is what we have come to,” NDP candidate Rosemary Keenan said. “Our team of volunteers have worked extremely hard over the past couple months and to see this happen is disgraceful.”

“We need to start electing representatives that would rather put time into making our communities better than resorting to tactics like this,” Keenan added. “People in Brampton are fed up with this kind of politics and deserve somebody who’s actually interested in their concerns, rather than doing whatever it takes to get elected.”

Neither the Conservative Party of Canada nor Bal Gosal has responded to Bal Gosal has responded to the incident.


http://thinkpol.ca/2015/10/16/harper-privately-met-brampton-sign-vandals-photos-show/

 

[Butler1000]

Two things to take on this.

One. The implication that The PM met with campaign volunteers and directed them to do this is quite frankly idiotic. Once again twizz you are a failure.

Two, and I don't care if I get flak for this, democracy in some other countries is dirty, and sometimes people bring those tricks here. These actions have no place here. I hope they are charged under the Elections act.

 

[rhuarc29]

Two things to take on this.

One. The implication that The PM met with campaign volunteers and directed them to do this is quite frankly idiotic. Once again twizz you are a failure.

Two, and I don't care if I get flak for this, democracy in some other countries is dirty, and sometimes people bring those tricks here. These actions have no place here. I hope they are charged under the Elections act.

Why would you take flak for that? Right on both counts.

 

[JohnLarue]

Yeah it is pretty clear twizz has an agenda and he has no integrity

It is sad that some people think they can fool everyone / anyone with the distribution of pure bullshit

 

[LickingGravity]

I worry about somebody that actually believes this.

 

[twizz]

Conservatives facing criminal investigation over election law violation for the 4th election in a row

October 17, 2015

The Conservative Party of Canada is facing a criminal investigation over allegations that one of its candidates ordered senior members of his campaign team to tear down opponents’ election signs while putting up his own, making it the fourth time in as many elections that the ruling party has come under a criminal probe over election law violations.

The Peel Regional Police has launched an investigation over the incident that was caught on camera by a Liberal volunteer on Tuesday night, Detective Paul McNairn confirmed last evening.

“I don’t care,” one of the vandals is heard saying in the footage justifying his actions. “I’m doing my job.”

Under section 325(1) of the Canada Elections Act, “No person shall prevent or otherwise impair the transmission to the public of an election advertising message,” including election signs as outlined in section 495(1) of the Canada Elections Act, and the offence carries a maximum fine of $5,000 and up to six months in jail.

The Liberal team identified the men shown on the video as Balkar Jhutti, a major donor to Brampton Centre Tory incumbent Bal Gosal, and Harvinder Rai, but the police have yet to confirm the identities of the vandals.

Photos have emerged of Prime Minister Stephen Harper meeting Jhutti and Rai at the premises of a business owned by Jhutti.

“Under Stephen Harper, Conservatives have broken election rules in every election,” Ramesh Sangha, Liberal candidate for the riding, said. “The Liberal team remains focused on bringing positive change to the people of Brampton Centre. We will not be discouraged by dishonest Conservative election tactics.”

The Conservative Party of Canada pleaded guilty to the “in and out” scandal involving illegal transfer of money to various levels of the party to circumvent spending limits during the 2006 election campaign.

Harper’s ethics spokesperson Dean Del Mastro was jailed for his attempts to fraudulently cover up election overspending for his successful 2008 campaign for the Peterborough riding.

Conservative staffer Michael Sona was jailed over the “Robocall” scandal, where voters were directed to wrong polling stations using automated phone calls.

Conservative tactics only serve to make turn people off from voting, according to the NDP candidate Rosemary Keenan.

“It is unfortunate that think kind of tactic is being used this late in the game, especially after such a long and tenuous campaign,” Keenan told ThinkPol in an email. “It is especially disappointing for our volunteers and campaign team who have invested so much time in this election and see their hard work put down just like that sign.”

“All this style of politics does is turn people off and leave a bad taste in their mouth,” Keenan added. “People in Brampton deserve better than this and need representatives who are willing to spend more time advocating for the interests of the community. Rather than resorting to these kinds of tactics, we need a representative whose top priority is to be a strong voice for Brampton’s priorities.”

Bal Gosal was not available to comment on the matter as he was “out doorknocking,” according to his campaign team.

Our phone calls and emails to the Conservative Party of Canada headquarters so far remain remain unanswered.

[Photo Credit: Peel Regional Police]

http://thinkpol.ca/2015/10/17/conservatives-facing-criminal-investigation-over-election-law-violation-for-the-4th-election-in-a-row/

 

[oldjones]

Two things to take on this.

One. The implication that The PM met with campaign volunteers and directed them to do this is quite frankly idiotic. Once again twizz you are a failure.

Two, and I don't care if I get flak for this, democracy in some other countries is dirty, and sometimes people bring those tricks here. These actions have no place here. I hope they are charged under the Elections act.

I'm therefore surprised you explicitly stated as your first point an implication that my reading and re-reading of the the piece in no way suggested.

The meeting is presented as fact, but any sinister connection of the PM to the vandalism, never mind directing it, seems to be yours. With friend like that …

 

[SkyRider]

democracy in some other countries is dirty, and sometimes people bring those tricks here.

Multiculturalism. Democracy in some countries is not only dirty but deadly. They shot Bhutto.

 

[fuji]

I'm therefore surprised you explicitly stated as your first point an implication that my reading and re-reading of the the piece in no way suggested.

The meeting is presented as fact, but any sinister connection of the PM to the vandalism, never mind directing it, seems to be yours. With friend like that …

Oh please it clearly insinuated that Harper supported or encouraged these criminal acts. It was another hack job smear from the same disreputable site that published that slanderous lie that he was a white supremacist.

 

[basketcase]

... over allegations ...

The Peel Regional Police has launched an investigation over the incident...

If the police come up with any evidence that this was an organized campaign then prosecute the fuck out of the party brass. If it's just a couple morons then this isn't much of a story.

Of course if it is an organized campaign, how come these events haven't been more widespread in either that riding or nation wide?

 

[oldjones]

Oh please it clearly insinuated that Harper supported or encouraged these criminal acts. It was another hack job smear from the same disreputable site that published that slanderous lie that he was a white supremacist.

If the insinuation is clear it will be easy to quote the bit where it occurred.

This sort of over-excited rumour-mongering has been part of politics and government since forever. The best way to make sure such questionable stuff is noticed and given undue weight is to overstate the implication you read into the flimsy construct as you try to defend against it. That's what Butler did. Inferences and insinuations are what someone reads in. By supplying the worst reading possible one undermines the very defence they meant to mount.

I'm sure every leader innocently meets with all sorts of semi-screened campaign volunteers whose ideas of campaign ethics and conduct are all over the map. So what? However a photo of a pol's meet with named miscreants is a matter of public interest (think Rob). Just like peeling bills to the sound of cash registers is of interest. Like it's interesting how juvenile it is to including a picture with a resume — as if there really was a resume. Although the interest and truthiness of those, have less to do with the public good than meetings with named malefactors. It's how the sport's played these days; everything is always on record.

So how's about going to the text and what you say is clear when you point out where it insinuates Harper "… directed them to do this". Or you could leave it for the poster I addressed.

 

[fuji]

If the insinuation is clear it will be easy to quote the bit where it occurred.

Thread title.

 

[bver_hunter]

The morons that were defacing the Liberal signs were interviewed on CP24, and they stated that they were "just doing their job". So by implication that, they were paid to do that job, as the Conservative signs were installed by them in the place of the Liberal signs. The RCMP is now investigating.

 

[basketcase]

Or more likely they are a couple of morons who interpreted their 'job' of helping the candidate as vandalism.

 

[bver_hunter]

When you are putting up the official party signs, off course you have some links to that party / candidate. Not saying that they were specifically instructed to take down the other party's signs, but the fact is that they broke the law in doing so, and as such face prosecution.

 

[glamphotographer]

I am now more convinced to vote Liberal.

 

[oldjones]

Thread title.

Which says only that he met with them, and in no way remotely suggests that he directed them as Butler explicitly said, nor does that title in anyway suggest he encouraged or supported them as you asserted. Just that they met. Not even repeatedly, or for any significant length of time.

I really expected you point out something just a tad more convincing that injustice was being done by way of insinuation. So far you're making my point: That insinuations are what you read into — infer from — what actually was said. If you choose to take the risk of making them explicit as you 'defend' against them, you do the other side's work for them.

 

[basketcase]

When you are putting up the official party signs, off course you have some links to that party / candidate. Not saying that they were specifically instructed to take down the other party's signs, but the fact is that they broke the law in doing so, and as such face prosecution.

Absolutely. But any claims that they were paid to do it (they were campaign volunteers BTW) or under instructions from Harper are completely unsupported at this point. I wouldn't mind if the police find a video of Harper giving these guys instructions but that's not the case right now.

 

[oldjones]

Absolutely. But any claims that they were paid to do it (they were campaign volunteers BTW) or under instructions from Harper are completely unsupported at this point. I wouldn't mind if the police find a video of Harper giving these guys instructions but that's not the case right now.

Nor has anyone except those shooting at the messenger raised that far-fetched possibility. However we all know not everyone gets into private meeting room with the PM, so at the very least these guys have higher-than-average CPoC cred. That however is all we know, and even that musn't be given over-much importance.

The fact that Harper routinely met daily, at length and alone with a man who perhaps paid a Senator a $90,000 bribe and yet knew nothing at all about the matter demonstrates that anything is possible in that school of politics.

But a few election signs? Does the PM even see such tings?

 

[Aardvark154]

When you are putting up the official party signs, off course you have some links to that party / candidate. Not saying that they were specifically instructed to take down the other party's signs, but the fact is that they broke the law in doing so, and as such face prosecution.

Prosecution yes. But is really stretching it to say that you need to have really any links to a candidate or party to put up signs.

Unless you are well known as a member of another party walk into any candidate's office and say that you would like six or seven signs to put up on property you own. I guarantee you that if they have them to spare they will give them to you.