A Conservative parliamentary staffer who worked on the Tory election team in Guelph, Ont., has reportedly left his post amid an Elections Canada investigation into fraudulent "robocalls" sent out during last year's federal campaign.
According to Huffington Post Canada, Michael Sona - assistant to Conservative MP Eve Adams and communications director for Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke during last year's federal election campaign - was fired. The CBC and CTV, however, reported that Sona resigned from this position.
Sun Media published a photo of Sona on its website Thursday, and claimed he was being investigated by the party in relation to the calls.
A Postmedia News-Ottawa Citizen investigation revealed this week that Elections Canada has traced fraudulent phone calls made during the federal election to an Edmonton company that worked for the Conservative Party across the country.
Elections Canada launched its investigation after it was inundated with complaints about election day calls in Guelph, Ont., one of 18 ridings across the country where voters were targeted by harassing or deceptive phone messages in an apparent effort to discourage Liberal supporters from voting.
In Guelph, a riding the Conservatives hoped to take from the Liberals, voters received recorded calls pretending to be from Elections Canada, telling them their polling stations had been moved. The calls led to a chaotic scene at one polling station, and likely led some voters to give up on voting.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Conservative officials have denied their party was involved with the robocalls.
"Our party has no knowledge of these calls," Harper told reporters on Thursday. "It's not part of our campaign" ....