Pull 'defamatory' election ads, NDP tells radio stations
Last Updated: Friday, June 5, 2009 | 3:47 PM ET
CBC News
The NDP is demanding seven radio stations around Nova Scotia pull election advertisements produced for and paid by the Conservative Party of Nova Scotia.
The radio spots, which began running Friday, state the NDP has accepted "$45,000 in illegal campaign contributions from union bosses."
In a letter sent to the radio stations Friday by Michael Coyle, a lawyer for the NDP, claims these statements are "false, scandalous and seriously defamatory."
"In truth, the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is not, and has never been accused of, or investigated for, any ‘illegal donations,'" writes Coyle.
Matt Hebb, the New Democrats' campaign manager, said Friday it’s the first time he’s been involved in a campaign where one party has used defamatory ads to attack another party.
"In a political campaign people certainly expect that there's going to be some back and forth between the politicians," he said.
Party calls for apology
"But when you get to the point where you're actually airing defamatory and damaging wrongful information, I don't think anybody would expect a political party to sit back and do nothing."
The party has asked the stations to stop airing the ads and run a retraction and apology instead.
This is another nasty turn in the campaign which polls show is being won by the NDP.
Thursday Conservative Leader Rodney MacDonald compared NDP Leader Darrell Dexter to a car thief because the party had received $45,000 in contributions from 10 labour unions.
The NDP returned all but $5,000 when they realized the contributions might have contravened campaign rules.
"What this is like is someone going out and stealing a car and two weeks later, they take the car back and say, ‘Well, nothing’s been wrong since I took the car back.’ People don’t buy it, Darrell," MacDonald said Thursday night during a televised debate among all three party leaders.
