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September 19, 2008
Who's on Harper list?
Mixed feelings surround PM's holiday greetings.
RHONDA SPIVAK
The Conservative party is facing questions about religious profiling after Jewish Canadians received cards from Stephen Harper wishing them a happy New Year. The front of the card says "Happy New Year" and "L'Shana Tova U'Metuka" and the back contains a photo of Harper and his family.
This is the second year in a row the cards have been sent out from Harper's Calgary constituency office. Critics have charged that the cards raise serious concerns over voter privacy, and questioned whether it is appropriate for a prime minister to compile a list of Jews to send them unsolicited cards.
Jews who are not affiliated with any Jewish organizations in any formal way have been surprised and upset that they got on Harper's list. Some affiliated Jews didn't get a card but would have liked to.
"I didn't get a Rosh Hashanah card from the prime minister, but I absolutely would have wanted to get one. He sent one to my son. Maybe he realized my son is more important than me," said Leslie Jacobs, a Jewish camp administrator in Winnipeg.
"I know people who have gotten them who aren't Jewish but have Jewish-sounding last names. I also know Jewish people who haven't gotten them. Some people are amused and others are offended," said Anita Neville, a Liberal member of Parliament in Winnipeg South Centre. "What I want to know is how has Harper paid for these, and if they fit into Canada's election campaign financing rules."
Privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart concluded after a brief investigation that there was no violation of federal privacy legislation for the simple reason that political parties are exempted from most of its provisions. However, she has conducted a wider examination of political parties and privacy issues and will make recommendations to Parliament after the election.
When contacted by the Jewish Independent, Mike Storeshaw from the prime minister's campaign press office in Ottawa said, "I couldn't put a number on how many cards were sent out." When asked how the list of Jewish residents was compiled, he answered, "It's compiled through publicly available directories and registries."
When asked if the cards were part of the campaign budget, Storeshaw replied, "I don't know exactly how they are accounted for on the books. That isn't information we normally share.... However, my understanding is that these cards were sent out prior to the campaign beginning [on Sunday, Sept 7].
Another Conservative spokesperson from the prime minister's office, who would only identify herself as Lyn, said, "There are party members that are Jewish, who are members of other Jewish organizations and they identify people who they believe would like a card from the prime minister. Our lists are from members of the Jewish community. We don't operate from any set lists."
This suggests the Conservatives are using what is known as the FRAN approach – an acronym for friends, relatives, acquaintances and neighbors. What it means is that the Conservatives assemble groups of supporters who know lots of people in their constituencies, have community lists and helpful bits of biographical data that they pass on to the party.
A second way the Conservatives could have identified Jewish people is to electronically meld three databases: the Elections Canada voters' list, to which political parties are entitled; a telecom list, which matches names with telephone numbers; and an ethnic surname dictionary.
Bernie Farber, chief executive officer of Canadian Jewish Congress, said his organization has received some complaints from people who were "very concerned about having their names appear on a political party list." However, he also said that CJC has gotten favorable calls about the cards, "But, more importantly, letters to the editor of various newspapers on this subject have been 3:1 in support of the practice. That should probably tell us something," he said.
When asked whether CJC has any concerns about how the list of Canadian Jewry was compiled, he answered, "None whatsoever. The act of sending out New Year's greetings is decades old. Every political party engages in it and has been for years."
The Liberals have demanded unsuccessfully in Parliament that the Conservatives reveal how they compile their list of Jewish voters.
Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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