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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A small crowd marched down Franklin Avenue Sunday to protest the growing robo-call scandal in Ottawa.

One of many robo-call protesters who marched down Franklin Avenue Sunday afternoon. - Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

The ever-evolving national story has put the ruling Conservative party on the defensive as Elections Canada investigates allegations that Liberal-leaning voters in Ontario received misleading phone calls on where to vote ahead of polling day last year.

The opposition NDP was well-represented in the march, which numbered around 15 people. Among them was city councillor Mark Heyck, president of the NDP's Western Arctic riding association.

"I used to smugly laugh at the state of the American political system but I no longer feel that we can be self-righteous because of what is happening in our own country," he said.

"Over the last few years, the malaise that has been affecting our democracy is not acceptable."

Heyck said it's important that Elections Canada calls a full public inquiry into the robo-call allegations stemming from the 2011 federal election where the Conservatives were handed their majority government and the NDP was elevated to official opposition status.

The protesters for "Action to End Electoral Fraud" marched in blustery -10 C weather from the Red Apple Restaurant to the Greenstone Building. It was on the way there that a ruckus between a Yellowknife blogger and municipal enforcement officers led to the man's detention.

George Lessard was stopped and placed in the back of a municipal enforcement vehicle as a bylaw officer hopped into Lessard's truck and drove it to city hall where Lessard was handed a $75 fine for "overtaking a vehicle improperly." The offense was changed the next day to driving without due care and attention.

According to Lessard, he was filming the event in front of the post office and was attempting to pass the crowd in his truck at a slow speed when he stopped in front of them at a red light at Franklin and 50th Street.

As the parade came to the rear of his truck, a municipal enforcement officer approached and asked him for his driver's licence.

"Apparently they thought I was putting the protesters in danger by passing in an open lane at a slow speed," he said.

He said after providing his licence, the officer told him to drive to city hall but did not hand back the licence. He protested, arguing that it was against the law to drive without his licence, after which he was grabbed by two bylaw officers and put in the back of the municipal enforcement vehicle and then driven to city hall, said Lessard.

Lessard, who was due in court last night, said he was fighting the ticket.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said he is looking into the matter when Yellowknifer asked him about it.

March organizer Katrina Nokleby, an environmental engineer, said she plans to continue drawing attention to the robo-call scandal by keeping in touch with those who attended and spreading information through social media.

"My motivation is to keep this going so that we can go from the micro-scale protest that we saw today and influence it into a more macro level," said Nokleby.

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