CRTC Fines $85,000 Penalty to Ontario PCs over Polls during Provincial Election

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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A notification has compelled The Ontario Progressive Conservatives to pay a penalty of $85,000 after it was revealed that several of the party’s polls during the last provincial election were in contradiction to the CRTC regulations. The Tories have confirmed that the polls were conducted by an Alberta firm involved in the robocalls scandal, called RackNine, in September 2011.

Party spokesman, Alan Sakach, explained that in some instances, the polls did not inform voters that they have been commissioned by the PCs. He admitted that the problem was “an administrative error” on the behalf of the pollster. He revealed that the party did not receive any complaints on the matter, and the issue caught the attention of CRTC while it was investigating a different complaint. The Tories have allegedly agreed to pay the fine and claim to assure use of stricter protocols for avoiding such situation in the future. Sakach stated that “all vendors have to meet the CRTC’s rules and guidelines and the stringent guidelines of our leader.”

Sakach revealed that in case any polls were to be conducted on behalf of the party in future, it will now use authorized staff to approve them. He elucidated that the problem was that polls inquired who voters were intending to support in the 2011 election. RackNine is the same company that is being investigated in the robocalls scandal, about which it stated that it was “shocked” that some misused its services to disrupt the election.

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