The Conservative candidate for the Ontario riding of Brantford-Brant South-Six Nations is under scrutiny for a social media post claiming a letter, found in an unnamed jail, showed the Liberal Party was trying to curry favour with prisoners.
Larry Brock posted the letter X, formerly known as Twitter, on April 13. It was made to look like an official document, complete with Government of Canada letterhead. The document also included a typo, with ‘preposal’ written instead of ‘proposal.’
He claimed the document was found in a prison by a correctional officer. Brock then accused the Liberals of trying to win votes from convicted criminals by attacking Conservative crime policies.
“Inmates in maximum security must wear orange jump suits, TVs must be displaced and funding must be lowered,” the document read.
As of Thursday afternoon, the post had been viewed more than 379,000 times and garnered more than 900 comments.
Not an official government document, says CSC
When contacted by CTV News, a spokesperson for Correctional Services Canada (CSC) said a search for the letter was conducted by prison officials, but nothing was found.
“While claims were made earlier this week about the existence of a certain document that was allegedly found at an institution, we consulted with wardens and could not find it,” the statement said.
“The picture posted on social media was not an official Government of Canada document and we do not support circulating such documents under the Government of Canada wordmark.”
The statement continued: “Staff are aware of our obligations of impartiality and we have reminded inmate committees that if these types of documents are created and circulated, they will be immediately seized/removed.”
A Conservative campaign spokesperson backed Brock’s claim that a CSC employee shared the letter.
“We received it from a corrections officer, who found it in a prison and shared it with us,” their statement said.The national campaign did not respond to follow up questions about the CSC’s assertion the document was fake and that no copies were found during a search by prison officials.
CTV News reached out to Brock’s campaign, but did not receive a response.
Section 366 of the Criminal Code states it is an offence to forge a document with the intent of passing it off as genuine.
The Liberal Party, meanwhile, recently admitted to spreading disinformation at a Conservative conference in Ottawa last week.
The CBC reported a party operative placed divisive buttons at the event, including one saying “Stop The Steal,” a phrase used by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Elections Canada and CSIS have warned of election disinformation ahead of this year’s campaign, though their concerns have primarily focused on foreign interference rather than domestic political operations.
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Andrew Pinsent
