Briony Penn, the person leading in the polls on the eve of the 2008 election in Saanich-Gulf Islands, lays it out.
The NDP, the Greens and the Liberals had all asked me to run, so electoral reform was my preference — an informal coalition for progressive voters, to avoid splitting the vote and allowing Lunn to win again with only 37 per cent as he had in 2006. Our strategy for coalescing the vote appeared to be successful and after the NDP candidate stepped down in the last week of the campaign, I was leading the polls. The same poll listed the NDP’s share of the vote at one per cent.Read it.
That’s when strange things started to happen.
I'm with The Gazetteer. This was "patient zero". The entire desperate effort of the Harper attempt to steamroller his way to a majority started in Saanich-Gulf Islands in 2008.
Look at these filings as recorded by Elections Canada.
Common Sense Advocacy of Victoria
Dean park Advocacy Association
Economic Advisory Council of Saanich
Saanich Peninsula Citizens Council
Five 3rd party agencies in one riding. Out of a total of 53 in the whole country. Look at the addresses and postal codes. 4 out of 5 are identical. Look at the financial agents. 4 out of 5 are identical. All of them spent close to their maximum allowable limit to support Gary Lunn.
Illegal? Well, not according to Elections Canada.
Diddling the system? It sure looks like it.
You see, as reported at the time, none of these groups existed at all before the 2008 federal election and as soon as Lunn had counted himself the victor, they vanished. On the eve of the election, not one of them was registered with the province.
And then we have The 'Progressive Voters Association Of Saanich Gulf-Islands'.
You won't find them anywhere either, unless you recorded the call that came from them suggesting you vote for a non-existent NDP candidate.
The Citizen has removed the Penn story after time has passed unfortunately.
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