Community reaction to the Pierre Poutine revelations

Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the Commons on Feb. 27 that his party doesn't know details of allegations surrounding suspicious telephone calls during the 2011 election. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)For the most part, CBC Community do not appear amused by Pierre Poutine of Separatist Street, an apparent pseudonym shielding the identity of those responsible for automated calls that misdirected voters during the last federal election.

Court documents have revealed that the telephone number used to make some of the now infamous robocalls in Guelph, Ont. was registered to the Poutine pseudonym.

The documents show Elections Canada is investigating whether somebody willfully prevented or tried to prevent electors from voting, or whether somebody tried to persuade voters not to cast a ballot for a particular candidate. Both are offences under the Elections Act.

The investigation has provoked a strong reaction in our readers, who left thousands of comments below the story.

The majority expressed indignation and sadness at the latest revelations.

• "What's at stake is Canadian democracy, plain and simple. Harper has no right to shrug off these concerns." - crockodile
• "We are talking about the integrity of Canada! If the government has nothing to hide why have they blacked out invoices from Racknine and why won't they commission a public inquiry? This is our country, the government works for us, demand transparency!" - countryblues
• "A clear indication that somebody thinks democracy is a joke. It would be a travesty to the thousands of Canadians who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our democracy, if this is swept under the rug. An unbelievable insult to Canadians and our democracy." - solo_poke
• "Fraudulent calls claiming to be from Elections Canada from either inside of Canada or coming in from the outside of Canada should be grounds right there for the GG to drop the writ, suspend Parliament and order a new federal election. Have the RCMP and Elections Canada still do their investigations and nail the perps, no matter what party they are from, right to the wall." - Tdrouillard49
• "Wow, disposable cellphones, made up names...this sounds like one of those thrillers at the movie theatre about corruption, spying and espionage. It's scary and goes to the root of a fundamental right...the right to vote in a democracy." - Predator9089
• "Using Conservative logic, if Harper has nothing to hide, he should call an inquiry. Otherwise, he is guilty." - Inflame-a-tory
• "For the Prime Minister of Canada to shrug off the issue of electoral fraud, and do it with a tone of adversarial 'prove it' is very telling. It tells us that he is refusing to step up to the job of protecting Canadian democracy and that he would throw all Canadians under the bus right now, rather than take up his responsibility as a leader of this country at this time." - look.see
• "Canada, in the past, has gotten involved with overseeing elections in parts of the world where you can't trust the government. I guess, as long as we have the current government in Canada, we will need foreign monitors in future elections to ensure our elections are fair and honest. Canada has reached a new low." - ForBetterGovt

Several people called for investigators to be more thorough, faster and/or to follow the money.

• "Racknine isn't going to do anything (for anyone) without payment. So follow the trail to how this was financed and you should end up with your true culprit." - Eunectesboy
• "Why is Elections Canada just focussing on the Guelph riding? Hasn't it been established that these calls went out to multiple ridings? Does this mean that each riding will have its own investigation? This will drag on for years if this is the case. Given the passionate reaction by Canadians to this story, can the people wait?" - Gate Crasher

Others called for new elections.
 

• "I can tell you one extremely compelling reason why Canada needs another election right now. From reading these comments here and listening to what other Canadians are saying, our entire election system has been called into doubt. Even if nobody ever links this robocall scandal directly to the Conservatives, the damage is already done. Far too many people just don't believe anymore that the last election was a fair one. Elections Canada and the Governor General need to realize this. We already have trouble getting people out to vote in normal times. How then are you going to get people to bother to vote if they think elections are rigged?" - SteveMullins
• "If in fact Harper and his clan as so convinced they have a clear and true mandate of majority from the masses, then hold by-elections in each of the ridings affected. Let the people decide...although we all know that will not happen." - Sejanus
• "I voted Consevative last election, but I can't stand and won't stand for a cheater! Clean this up Mr. Harper and explain yourself." - twosquared

Unlike the comment thread under most stories, there few directly opposed the majority opinion. Still, there were some people who called for calm and spoke out on behalf of the government.
 

• "Pierre Poutine - too funny. I suppose they need to get to the bottom of this but do you think very many people didn't vote because of a phone call? I don't think anyone can claim that this changed the result. I suggest the NDP and especially the Liberals focus on getting their leadership and policies figured our they will not be in contention for the next election with or without robocalls." - quack424
• "Canada, never has, or ever will, allow, guilt by association to stand in criminal law or civil law. And such prosecution is banned by the constitution. The burden of proof, either beyond a reasonable doubt criminally, or by the preponderance of the evidence civilly, rests squarely and unequivocally on the accusers, which would be 'Vikileaks Bob Rae' and 'about to be sued Pat Martin.' . . . Nobody in Canada has to prove their innocence, the prosecutors have to prove that the accused are guilty, case closed." - HarperIsRight
• "What if . . . This wasn't done by any political party. If it was someone or group of persons who wanted to do something so drastic as to give all Canadians a wake up call as to how vulnerable we are. To realize how lucky we are to have a democracy and the right to vote. That people need to appreciate that they can vote and to exercise that vote." - L.Barkley
• "No. What is stunningly egregious is the opposition, led by the Liberals, is hurling allegations at the government, without proof, and their supporters are outraged that the government is not providing the proof for those allegations. Sorry, where I live, if you make an allegation you prove it." - Censorshiprules

Thank you, as always, for following our coverage. Please feel free to challenge any of these points and continue the conversation below.