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Chapman slams Ramal over 'campaign camouflage'
Jim Chapman, PC candidate for the riding, is taking issue with recently mailed material from the office of Liberal MPP Khalil Ramal. The arrival of post-card type flyers outlining the accomplishments of Ramal and the McGuinty government is something Chapman is calling "campaign camouflage." Chapman says though no Liberal logo appears on the flyers, what Ramal is doing is campaigning at the expense of taxpayers. "For at least the third time in as many months, London-Fanshawe Liberal MPP Khalil Ramal has raided the taxpayer piggybank to promote his re-election. He is distributing yet another glossy flyer promoting himself to the voters, and apparently billing the cost to the taxpayer," Chapman said. Attempts to contact Ramal and staff at his constituency office were unsuccessful at the time of publication. Chapman said Ramal's staff are claiming the flyers are constituency updates and have nothing to do with the election. "But it's plain to anyone these are definitely campaign pieces. You can do updates just fine on a cheap sheet of plain paper but these are full-colour cards printed on expensive heavy stock," he said, adding the fact there is no Liberal logo or campaign slogan, allows Ramal to take advantage of a loophole and utilize taxpayers' dollars to pay for the flyers. Green Party candidate Daniel O'Neail, though not supporting Ramal's flyer circulation, said "It seems odd that the only candidate (Chapman) with election signs up prior to the official election call in Fanshawe would raise this concern." He said with the fixed election date, it seems many candidates are starting to campaign early prior to the writ being dropped. "I can only assume responsibility for the Green Party campaign team in London-Fanshawe and assure the public we will follow the elections act rather then circumventing the process to gain an advantage over the other candidates," O'Neail said. NDP candidate Stephen Maynard said he doesn't see it as a big issue in the upcoming election. Though he's been getting "a lot of feedback from different constituents," regarding the Ramal flyers, he believes the Liberal MPP has done nothing wrong. "Mr. Ramal hasn't broken any rules. He hasn't done anything wrong. He hasn't put his campaign literature in any of it," Maynard said, adding it's Ramal's responsibility to communicate with his constituents. However, Maynard continued, "It does seem odd that it is only happening now on the eve of an election. The court of public opinion is where he'll be judged and that's what this election is all about." The latest Ramal flyer to circulate to homes in the London-Fanshawe riding shows a picture of Ramal shaking hands with London Police Chief Murray Faulkner. The flyer claims Ramal has been a leader in providing significant resources for local policing. Chapman believes the photo was used without Faulkner's permission and is "in contravention of a long-standing policy against involving law enforcement officers in partisan politics. This suggests a serious ethical lapse on the part of Ramal's handlers," Chapman said, "or a lack of understanding on their part about what's legal and what isn't." In addition, Chapman said the Liberal government has actually done little to help police deal with "our revolving-door bail system, escalating violence and the proliferation of gang culture." Just last month the Liberal government allocated $510,00 to the London Police Service as part of its $12 million anti-crime package recently announced by Premier Dalton McGuinty. But Chapman said when one looks over the past years of Liberal government in Ontario, what's been done for policing, particularly in London, is "very little and kind of late. "Ontario needs real leadership on law enforcement, from people who understand that the foundation of the law is the willingness of individuals to follow its rules," he said. |
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