Courtenay-Comox Conservative candidate Brennan Day says he filed a complaint with Elections B.C. about an NDP campaign mailout he calls deceptive.
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Courtenay-Comox Conservative candidate Brennan Day says he has filed a complaint with Elections B.C. over an NDP campaign mailout that he alleges is deceptive.
In a letter described by Day, Dr. Habib Ur-Rehman said he felt compelled to write to British Columbians about his concerns for health care and that he came to B.C. after “we saw a government that listened to doctors and was willing to act.”
Ur-Rehman’s letter also argues, “the B.C. Conservatives would take us the other way,” adding that “they’ve admitted healthcare and education are going to have to take the brunt of their cuts.”
Day said the letter is “clearly designed to mislead people.” He said he heard from numerous recipients who complained the sender — the NDP campaign — was not made clear, including that it initially appears to look like an official Elections B.C. mailout.
Day said the doctor’s message was clear, but “the only indication that it’s paid for by the NDP, and that it’s political mail… is this tiny little authorized by statement that’s barely visible to myself,” adding that the designation of who sent the letter was not prominent.
B.C. rules require political messages like the letter to disclose who authorized them, but where and how prominently that information must be displayed is not immediately clear.
B.C. NDP leader David Eby defended the mailer, saying, “I think people understand that was a message that was promoting the B.C. NDP because this doctor believes we are the best for health care.”
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