Robocall scandal: someone bought a throwaway phone in Guelph and registered it to "Pierre Poutine

[applegrove]

from Joliette, Quebec". That's a slur. And makes me think it was not someone very familiar with traditional Canadian issues who bought it. Maybe someone from out west. Maybe someone very young. Maybe some American. If the conservatives don't find out who it is it will haunt them. The issue will never be put to bed.

[teddy51]

1. Funny how the look on Harper's face makes him look guility IMO. But unless there is proof

that the Conservatives were directly involved, there isn't much to hang them on. (I am not personally a Harper fan.. as in yuck, but they must prove the case against him, before charges). Lets hope that Elections Canada is able to attach specific blame, and new elections can be forced in those rideings.

[Old and In the Way]

2. Can you explain the slur and why this is phone is such an issue?

I have no idea what the back story here is.

[applegrove]

3. It was "Pierre Poutine, Separatist Street, Joliette Quebec". Apparently there is a Pierre's Poutine

restaurant in Guelph. Here is some more info.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1138343--pierre-poutine-fingered-in-elections-canada-robo-call-probe?bn=1

[DBoon]

4. So it's sort of like, in CA

registering a cell phone to "Pedro Guacamole, Aztlan, East LA" to make robo calls for the Republican Party?

[applegrove]

7. I don't know what "Aztlan" means but you are correct.

[jberryhill]

8. Waddya mean? I know that guy

[Old and In the Way]

10. OK...the Canadien equivalent of conservative dirty tricks here in the US.

I get the 2-fer aspect of smearing Quebec Province at the same time they are screwing with the elections.

[applegrove]

11. I don't know that it was meant to be caught because the cell phone was linked to the robocall

firm in alberta that the conservatives used. Why would anybody want to be caught that would reflect negatively on their party? I know the conservatives like to bait quebec, maybe running down separatists was just the idle chatter that was going on in conservative backrooms and someone put that idle chatter in their false cell phone application. It certainly is a strange story turns out to be.

[aquart]

5. What American has ever heard of Pierre Poutine?

And now would be a good time to explain why it's a slur.

[applegrove]

6. The whole quote is a stereotype. People who spend time with french canadians develop

Last edited Wed Feb 29, 2012, 02:39 AM - Edit history (1)

empathy for them and wouldn't put a Pierre "Poutine" (which is not anybody's name) on a "separatist" street. Pierre's Poutine is not a slur. I'm obviously just guessing. I'm not sure where the disposable cell phone was bought. But it does not seem to me that the person who did this was all that culturally sophisticated as Canada goes - but they were politically sophisticated in terms of modern dirty tricks. Or maybe it was a regular conservative operative, culturally sophisticated, who wanted to bait Quebec separatists (the conservatives have been doing that lately with all their talk of royal this and that - they likely want to keep the separatists going to keep the left split). Bvut why would they want to get caught with a conservative robocalling firm involved? The ins and outs of robocalling is an american thing I think. Do you at least agree with that?

[Joe Shlabotnik]

9. Maybe George W Bush,

"In an election 2000 segment, he convinced then-Governor of Texas George W. Bush that Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was named Jean Poutine and that he was supporting Bush's candidacy. The success of the CBC special got Mercer attention on numerous American media outlets, including ABC News Nightline." - from This Hour Has 22 Minutes entry on wikipedia. As I recall It was pretty funny.

On edit; found the clip

The notion of it being a slur comes from the animosity that the western provinces in particular hold towards Quebec. This sounds like something that a rabid Harper supporter would do. Kind of like a Canadian version of James O'Keefe.

[CHIMO]

12. Robocalls phone number registered to 'Pierre Poutine'

A telephone number used to place automated calls directing voters to the wrong polling station in Guelph, Ont., in the last federal election was registered to a "Pierre Poutine" of Separatist Street, Joliette, Que., court documents reveal.

The documents also show a link between the national Conservative campaign to the call centre through which the automated calls were made.

The documents were sworn by an Elections Canada investigator and filed in Edmonton court to get a production order for Racknine, the call centre used to make the robocalls. A production order requires documents to be made available to law enforcement officials within a specified time.

The allegations contained in the document have not been tested in court.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/02/28/pol-robocalls-guelph-pierre-poutine.html
Feb 29, 2012 8:57 AM ET

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/321509-racknine-production-order.html

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/321510-return-from-robocall-003.html

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/321511-robocall-search-warrant-1-003.html

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/321512-robocall-search-warrant-2-003.html

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/321508-robocall-search-warrant-3-003.html

Conspiracy? Well certainly looks like more than one individual was/is involved.

[JohnyCanuck]

13. Stephen Harper Stole 2011 Election? 'Robocalls' Investigation of Fraud (video)

&feature=player_embedded

From the Youtube description on the video:

Petition: http://www.leadnow.ca/robocall-fraud
Over 20,000 petitions have been sent within 3 days. Lets aim for 100,000!!!
Its easy and takes 30 seconds.
Send a message to all the party leaders and your MP demanding a full public inquiry and real consequences for election fraud: