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Carbon tax mystery text leaves many annoyed and confused

A screenshot of the mysterious text from "Sue".
A screenshot of the mysterious text from "Sue". Credit: https://twitter.com/JohnZwicker1

Many Ontarians are puzzled by an automated text message last the weekend, asking if they agree that the federal government’s carbon tax must be scrapped.

READ MORE: Unsolicited messages claiming to be from PC party raise privacy concerns

Who’s behind the campaign and what they plan to do with the responses is a mystery, though. The message purports to be from “Sue” — from an unknown group called “Ontario Strong.”

A group by that name does have a website but it appears to be a work-in-progress that imparts little information.

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The text message appears to be an attempt to identify voters who are opposed to the carbon tax imposed by the federal Liberals, presumably so they can be targeted during the election campaign this fall.

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Some Ontarians who received the text message are venting annoyance. Among those is Liberal MP Pam Damoff, who represents the riding of Oakville North-Burlington.

READ MORE: Can politicians send you unsolicited text messages? Here are the rules in Canada

“How did you get my number, Sue? And who the heck is Ontario Strong? Is that code for (The Conservative Party of Canada)?”

Conservative party spokesman Cory Hann says neither he nor others at party headquarters had ever heard of Ontario Strong before.

 

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