Elections B.C. is taking action to address a website taking aim at James Crosty's bid to become New Westminster's next MLA.
Crosty reported an online "smear campaign" to Elections B.C., after receiving a Google alert on Saturday morning informing him about a website established in his name - james crosty.com. The website features a photograph of Crosty alongside the smiling faces of former premiers Bill Vander Zalm and Gordon Campbell, and current premier Christy Clark.
"The first thing I thought was wow, look at the company I am keeping," he said. "I went, no, this isn't quite right. There is something wrong with this picture. I was very concerned, especially when I read the caption."
Below the headshots, the caption read: "Please, on May 14th, make your vote count. Another friendly face or real change? Say no to James Crosty."
After reporting the incident to Elections B.C. Monday morning, Crosty received an email from an official who stated that www.james crosty.com constitutes unauthorized election advertising. As a result, Elections B.C. took steps to determine the identity of the sponsor and would require that transmission of the website cease until the sponsor is registered and the website bears the authorization statement.
"We have sent a letter to Domain ID Shield Service Co., the company who registered the domain www. jamescrosty.com, presumably on behalf of a client, requesting that they shut down the website and identify their client," stated a subsequent
email from Elections B.C. "If you are able to find out any more information about the person or group operating the website, please let me know."
Crosty believes the website contravenes British Columbia's third-party elections advertising laws, and thinks it may break Canadian copyright laws by using unauthorized images from the B.C. Social Credit and Liberal parties.
Crosty suggests that whoever is responsible for the domain registration is committing a form of cyber identity theft. He's also concerned that the webpage is an example of political cyber bullying.
"Identity theft, copyright infringement, breaking Canadian election laws, using overseas resources to influence a Canadian election and possibly cyber bullying - these are all very serious issues, some of which may be criminal," he said.
Crosty plans to report concerns about identity theft, cyber bullying and copyright issues to the New Westminster Police Department, the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, as he says the issue involves offshore interests interfering in a Canadian election.
Crosty has no idea who is responsible for the website, but is taking action to find out.
"Your mind starts to wander," he said. "Why would somebody do this? What is the purpose behind it?"
While the website has limited information at this time, Crosty worries that the person who started it could post some "nasty stuff" without taking responsibility. He's inviting New Westminster candidates represented by major parties to combine their "considerable financial and personnel resources" to help him track down the person or people responsible for the website.
"With a small investigation by their highly trained IT people, both parties could help solve this mystery quickly, identify this person and help authorities shut the site down and help bring them to justice," he said in a press release. "Showing we can work together says we, as politicians, will not condone this behaviour and take a stand to maintain the integrity of politics as a profession. It's a noble ambition. Think how much worse this could be, it could have been any one of my opponents and could be significantly more slanderous in nature - it still may."
Actions like this, said Crosty, could discourage good people from entering politics. On the upside, he thinks he must be considered a political threat for someone to go to the trouble of setting up the website and hiding their actions offshore.
When Crosty ran for mayor in the 2011 civic election, he attempted to obtain the jamescrosty.com domain on the Internet, but it was gone. When it was not available, he obtained the crosty.ca domain.
"All kinds of thoughts enter into your mind," he said. "We didn't care at the time because we thought there's nothing on it. We registered crosty.ca."
According to Crosty, a list of meta-tag words are hidden on the page, including names of issues Crosty has been involved with in New Westminster, and other candidates and individuals. When people search these words on a search engine, the meta-tags may help guide them to the website.
"I don't mind having a little fun in the election, but I certainly don't appreciate it when somebody doesn't take responsibility for it," he said.
