The issues page on John Sprovieri’s web page is blank now, and that’s a pity. The Bramalea-Gore-Malton Conservative candidate had a comprehensive round-up of the issues facing the voters.

The voters of Surrey, that is.

As reported yesterday by the incomparable Sean Holman, the page had apparently been plagiarized from Fleetwood-Port Kells MP Nina Grewal. (Or possibly tape-recorded without her knowledge.)

Hence such passages as:

Gurmant and I are two separate MPs representing different ridings. Gurmant not running in this election affects me personally, but not professionally. Any advice that Gurmant is giving me during this election is similar to any supportive spouse.

and

A Conservative government, regardless of individual member’s views, will not table legislation concerning abortion. […] As your representative in Ottawa, my opinion doesn’t matter. If you want to know my opinion, I am a woman, end of discussion.

(Trust me, John: if you were to announce that you’re actually a woman, that would just be the beginning of the discussion.)

This was probably the result of thoughtlessness (“It’s just the web site; find something and slap it up there”) or carelessness — borrowing some placeholder text during the design process and then forgetting to update it.

In which case, the term “dummy copy” has never been more appropriate.

Of course, compared to what some folks in this campaign have actually intended to say online, this is very mild stuff. But it’s still acutely – and deservedly – embarrassing to the Sprovieri campaign.

And it’s a reminder: your web site can have a big impact on your online reputation. Be as careful with the former as you want to be with the latter.