Digital trail could help unmask 'Pierre Poutine'

OTTAWA -- The mysterious "Pierre Poutine" at the centre of the robocalls scandal used a real street address in Quebec when he set up an account to send out misleading election day messages and left a digital trail that could help investigators discover his true identity.

The suspect behind the pseudonym spoke to the owner of Edmonton call centre RackNine when he opened an account to use the company's voice-broadcasting services -- but gave another, more believable name.

"He did not address himself as Pierre Poutine with me," said RackNine owner Matt Meier, recounting what appears to be the only known telephone conversation with the shadowy suspect. "I would not have taken a client with such a stupid name."

Elections Canada investigators believe a disposable cellphone registered in Poutine's name and under the fictitious address "Separatist Street" in Joliette, Que., was the origin of a disinformation campaign to misdirect voters in Guelph, Ont., and possibly other ridings.

But Meier said the street address the caller provided was a real address in Joliette, a small town about half-an-hour northeast of Montreal.

Meier looked up the address on Google Maps and it appeared legitimate, but admits he doesn't now know whether it belonged to the customer who opened the account. "It could very well be this is the exact address and they just haven't charged the guy yet," he said.

The call to RackNine came a few days before the May 2 election day, when the customer used his account to launch the robocall blitz sending electors to the wrong polling stations.

The customer's account with the online payment service PayPal, used to fund the voice broadcasts, also checked out, Meier said. He declined to provide the name the customer gave or offer further details about the conversation because he doesn't want to jeopardize the ongoing Elections Canada investigation.

Meier says RackNine had no knowledge the customer was using the account for the misleading calls until Elections Canada arrived at his offices in November, armed with a production order. The agency says RackNine is not suspected of any wrongdoing. The company has been providing technical assistance to Elections Canada investigator Allan Mathews, the former RCMP inspector leading the probe into robocalls made in Guelph, Meier said.

Sources close to the investigation say the "burner phone" in question was purchased not in Joliette, but at a convenience store in Guelph.

A source close to the investigation says the PayPal payment to RackNine was made using a prepaid gift credit card that could, like the "burner" cellphone, prove difficult to track down.

More interesting to investigators is the IP address recorded by PayPal when the suspect connected to the payment site to create his account.

If the customer logged on to PayPal from a traceable address, Mathews could obtain the name of the account holder. But if Poutine was clever and always logged into PayPal using public Wi-Fi, tracking him could be tougher.

Liberal election lawyer Jack Siegel said he has never seen anything like this. "They are taking it very very seriously. This is not a typical investigation as carried out by the commissioner's office in the past."

-- Postmedia News

Tories hit for blocking power to elections boss

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's governing Conservatives have come under fire for blocking a move in recent months to give Canada's chief electoral officer more power to audit the expenses of political parties.

As controversy continued to rage in the House of Commons Tuesday over the robocalls affair, opposition parties pressed Harper on why his party refused to grant more leeway to the head of Elections Canada to probe party expenses for all elections.

Harper sidestepped giving direct answers. Instead, he insisted his party is co-operating with Elections Canada into the agency's investigation into complaints over robocalls that misled some voters to go to the wrong polling stations in the election last May.

But Harper and his parliamentary secretary, Dean Del Mastro, refused to explain why -- before the scandal even broke two weeks ago -- the Tories used their majority on a Commons committee to deny new auditing powers to chief electoral officer Marc Mayrand.

Opposition parties later said the Tories' actions are inexcusable in a modern democracy and suggest they want to prevent the independent electoral agency from getting at the truth in future elections.

Early Tuesday evening, the government offered an explanation through one of its MPs, who said the Tories objected to the increased costs that taxpayers would have to bear if Mayrand were given extra powers and then hired new auditors for his own office.

Also late Tuesday, it was revealed the Tories have dropped an appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada over a 2006 federal election dispute with Elections Canada.

The so called 'in-and-out' dispute began when an Elections Canada auditor looked into the party expenses and said the Conservatives violated campaign financing rules. Elections Canada maintains the party funnelled money for national ads through 67 local candidates, allowing the party to exceed its spending limit and allowing candidates to claim rebates on expenses they hadn't actually incurred.

Last November, the Conservative party pleaded guilty to election financing charges and paid the maximum fine of $52,000.

-- Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 7, 2012 A9