I was told that an investigation had been conducted, but the problem is that in cases like this, the person named in the complaint was contacted and said that the complaint was utterly unfounded. And that was the end of the investigation. My colleague will tell you that the same thing happened during the last election campaign. Our complaints never go any further because the person named is contacted and we're informed that there is no valid reason for pursuing the investigation, for lack of evidence.
I'd like to know what steps we should be taking. I know the returning officer can intervene, but the fact that she must call Canada's Chief Electoral Officer, that she has admitted to me that she can't control the situation with this lone individual, and that she has to advise candidates or their representatives to file a complaint with the Commissioner of Elections Canada are indications that the situation is serious.
We did in fact file a complaint, but we were subsequently informed that our complaint was unfounded. There was some doubt as to whether we had reasonable grounds to file a complaint, when in fact the Elections Act was violated on two counts. If I were the one to have committed an offence and if someone had contacted me, I could have easily denied everything, or maintained that I wasn't there at the time. The investigation would go no further. We have some doubts as to whether a thorough investigation was conducted. We have some reasonable doubts.