TORONTO — A senior Ontario Liberal Party official was caught on tape at a party training session saying she gave cigarettes to residents of a Toronto shelter to get them to vote.
Nikki Holland, the party's operational vice-president, acknowledged in an e-mail sent to QMI Agency Thursday that she made the comments but says she has never handed out cigarettes to potential voters.
"During a presentation to a partisan audience I got carried away playing to the crowd. I repeated stories I have heard about the NDP election day tactics, and Brian Mulroney's leadership tactics, and pretended they were my own," she wrote. "I have never done those things, and never would. It was a joke, it was a stupid mistake in the moment. I regret saying it and apologize -- especially because it is not true."
A spokesperson for the Ontario Liberal Party said that Holland made an inappropriate joke in poor taste and has now apologized.
"We've heard of many dirty tricks by the NDP and Conservatives, but that's not how the Ontario Liberal Party operates," the spokesperson said.
Holland can be heard on an audio tape of a July 16 training session talking about the need to fundraise and connect with voters.
"I have done crazy things. Like...and if anyone repeats this I'll deny it (until) the cows come home...I have gone to a shelter in the riding of St. Paul's with a carton of smokes and said, 'I'll give you them after you vote.' I have done that...but they were already smokers...," Holland is heard saying on the audio recording.
The Ontario Liberals are known for their strong anti-tobacco policies, including one of the toughest smoking bans on the continent.
"These are very serious allegations that demand an immediate investigation," Progressive Conservative party communications director Jason Lietaer said in an e-mail.
"We are shocked by these practices - not only are they against the law but they are taking advantage of the most vulnerable in our society. "It's an affront to democracy and these kinds of tactics turn voters off. The Liberals should be ashamed of themselves."
