Edmonton MP refutes emails written in his name
Last Updated: Monday, July 13, 2009 | 3:49 PM MT
CBC News
Someone is sending out mass emails critical of government policies using his name, Edmonton East Conservative MP Peter Goldring said Monday.
The emails criticize the government on issues such as global warming, adding fluoride to drinking water, and the North American Free Trade Agreement, he said.
Edmonton MP Peter Goldring claims someone is sending mass emails, critical of the federal government, in his name. (CBC) "If this went out to all of the caucus members, then I've got some explaining to do here," Goldring said. "I believe somebody is up to some mischief here," he said.
People who know him will not believe that this is his position on such issues, Goldring said.
"It's somebody who obviously is either trying to create problems by making it look as though I'm on some kind of a policy tear here ... quite frankly I think it's a little cowardly of the person ... use your own name," he said.
If this were to occur during a federal election campaign, it could cause serious problems, Goldring said.
"Write me, send me a message if you have legitimate concerns and problems," is the message Goldring has for the person sending the emails.
'I'm computer illiterate.'—Peter Goldring, Edmonton East Conservative MP
The issue has been brought to the attention of the information technology people in parliament, and to RCMP, but he doesn't believe anything can be done, Goldring said.
Most of the information the MP sends to constituents is by way of pamphlets that are go through the mail, a method of communication that Goldring is most comfortable with.
"I'm computer illiterate ... I've been in business 25, 30 years without a computer and hoping to go into full retirement without ever having to learn how to work one," Goldring said.
It only takes seconds to send an email using any name you want, according to a computer expert at the University of Alberta.
Broderick Wood of the University of Alberta demonstrates how simple it is to send email using any name a person wants. (CBC) "All you need is a computing device and internet access," Broderick Wood of the department of computing science said Monday.
Most computer spam works with fake addresses, Wood said.
"Email was never designed to be a secure communication," he said.
The person can be tracked down if the original location and time the email was first sent can be determined, Wood said.
