Kate Poirier
t4onehoS ·
tldr: Stephen Welton (PPC) knew he could not setup at the farmers market, but chose to show up and setup anyway, bully the staff, and obnoxiously disrupt and interfere with our operations.
(Complaint to Elections Canada)
To whom it may concern,
I write in regards to an incident on September 12th, 2021 involving the People’s Party of Canada Nanaimo-Ladysmith candidate Stephen Welton and his staff.
The incident and behavior that I will outline can only be described as that of a bully, chaotic, and downright obnoxious.
To preface, the Canada Elections Act, Section 81.1 (1), Campaigning in public places, stipulates that:
‘No person who is in control of a building, land, street or any other place, any part of which is open without charge to members of the public, whether on a continuous, periodic or occasional basis — including any commercial, business, cultural, historical, educational, religious, governmental, entertainment or recreational place — may prevent a candidate or his or her representative from campaigning in or on that part when it is open without charge to members of the public.’
The Cedar Farmers Market Agricultural Society is a not-for-profit organization, which operates under its own rules, regulations, and bylaws. Additionally, we are a member in good standing of the British Columbia Association of Farmers Markets (BCAFM) and we operate within the rules and regulations of the BCAFM.
Though rules may vary from one Farmers Market to another, we do not rent vendor space to political parties. We do rent to small businesses from our community and only those products and services that are locally grown and made are eligible. All vendors undergo a strict application and adjudication process under the scrutiny of our elected Board of Directors.
Since moving to our present location at Woodbank School in Nanaimo (Cedar) in 2019 we have experienced two federal elections and one provincial election.
Candidates are welcome to visit the market and engage cordially with the public. They are not vendors and are not sold rental space or allowed to erect tents or tables. We do have many candidates who visit our market and have never (until now) had any negative outcomes.
Interactions with the Candidate and his Staff:
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September 3, 2021, 9:21 AM
Stephen Welton:
Hi, I'm the PPC Candidate for Nanaimo-Ladysmith in the coming federal election. We'd like to be able to come set up a small tent at the market and wonder about your policies/practices for political campaigning.
Kate Poirier:
Hi Stephen,
We don't allow political tables/tents/vendors. However, I am aware that the Canada Elections Act protects the right of federal candidates like yourself to campaign at our market.
I just ask that everyone behaves respectfully and to make sure the customers feel comfortable and not intimidated. Some people really don't like politics at the market, but honestly, I really haven't had any problems and I have been through numerous election cycles at the market.
Stephen Welton:
Thank you, Kate. We are quite insistent with our volunteers that they not be obtrusive, just providing an opportunity for people to meet me if they'd like.
_________________________
On Thursday, September 9th, a campaign volunteer called my private phone number to inquire about participating in the market.
I informed her that Stephen had already been in touch and reiterated that they cannot be vendors or set-up tables and tents, but that they are welcome to engage with the public and I asked them to be respectful in doing so.
_________________________
The Incident:
On Sunday, September 12th Stephen Welton and his staff showed up at the market, while it was already underway no less, and proceeded onto the field and set up a tent. Staff told them they could not do this and an argument ensued.
Eventually, they stopped and packed up their tent.
They then marched their tent to our main entrance and proceeded to set up their tent in the middle of our active parking lot! They were told by the staff that they could not do that and they ignored the directives and continued. Arguing ensued and they refused to budge.
I was then called and put on speakerphone for an 18-minute long disagreement with the unrelenting Mr. Welton. (I was at home caring for a sick child.)
I informed Mr. Welton that it was private property, that he had no permission to set up, and that he was creating a safety violation by being set up in the middle of traffic.
Mr. Welton informed me, erroneously:
- That the burden of proof as to who can operate in that parking lot was on ME and that I should write down his email address and submit a lease agreement to him for him to review.
- That after considering my directives on September 3rd regarding not allowing his party (or any party) to set up tents in our vendor space, they had chosen to scheme and devise their own plans and set up in the parking lot.
Facts:
- My lease and operating agreements are my business. If you want to know who has an agreement in place for the school property it would not take more than a few good marbles to consider that you may want to contact the School District.
- I did tell Mr. Welton that we had an agreement with the Snuneymuxw First Nation for the entire outdoor school property and that he was welcome to call the SFN. (He decided to not 'believe' me. The audacity of this man was astounding!)
I am responsible for the entire school grounds. I liaise with the local fire department, the Regional District of Nanaimo, the RCMP, the Snuneymuxw First Nation, field engineers at School District 68, GFL disposal services, VIHA, groundskeeping services, and more.
At that point, the President of our Board of Directors was dispatched to the parking lot and made the ultimatum clear, pack up now or Kate is calling the police.
I then packed up my sick kid and drove down there to ensure my staff would not take any more bullying, condescension, aggression, or disrespect. The abusive and arrogant behavior shown by a man appealing to represent our area to parliament was obnoxious.
The PPC team managed to bully our staff and to interrupt and create undue hardship towards our entire business operations. The amount of planning and work that goes into executing this event is no small feat.
The entire incident was egregious. It was intentional without a whisper of innocent misunderstanding.
Stephen Welton and his PPC team were well aware of proper conduct and elected to bully their way through our operations. They have zero excuses for their misconduct.
Sincerely,
Kate Poirier
Market Manager
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