Fair elections act: 242-page Bill C-23 By Laura Payton, CBC News Posted: Apr 15, 2014 5:00 AM ET| Last Updated: Apr 15, 2014 6:38 AM ET
The vouching issue draws attention away from the other aspects of the bill. This is one of several articles that helps us see through this ruse. I read the Canadian public was not very engaged in the issues around this bill. I do hope that is not true or else we will deserve what we get. One year isn't long enough for the commissioner of Canada Elections to investigate before the records are destroyed. The new rules also don't require companies or parties to keep the list of phone numbers called. The shifting of powers from a non-partisan authority to partisan entities is democratically inappropriate. TRUE electoral reform would involve: like proportional representation, improving ease of voting, reaching out, dealing with voter apathy and non-voters, mandatory voting, improving funding rules, increasing voter education, improving voting procedures, tightening qualifications of candidates, making false campaign promises illegal, no personal attacks, required receipts, accountability
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/03/21/conservatives_keep_electoral_reform_documents_secret.html
In an unusual move, the Privy Council Office has refused to release all but three pages of a 199-page transition binder prepared for Poilievre when he assumed his cabinet post in July 2013. Citing cabinet confidence, the department also heavily censored the three pages they released, including a table of contents with most of the contents blacked out. There is a provision in the bill that the registry and records of automated robocalls will not have to be kept until after the 2015 election. Now, why would the Harper Conservatives put such a provision in the bill? The guy who called the supporters of his opponent, misdirecting them to the wrong polling station and thereby winning the riding, gets to pick the people who, among other things, decide who gets to vote and who doesn't." As has been noted before, many people did not vote *for* the Conservatives, but rather, voted *against* the Liberals. With shenanigans like this, genuine "conservatives" will think twice about re-electing these gangsters. The riding splitting going on in Conservative ridings where you take one riding and divide it into 2 or 4. This is sneaky beyond description. 1: Fair Elections Act 2: Riding splitting In 2012 there were 308 ridings. Harper has split predominately strong Conservative ridings into smaller ones so now in Canada there are 338 ridings increasing his chances of winning again by 30 more seats. This is exactly why no one political party should have the opportunity to make changes to election law without all parties supporting the changes and after due consideration of the opinion of experts in the field. Write your MP, write ALL of the senators in your province and tell them what you think of this bill. Remind them that their job is to ensure that legislation approved by the senate must serve the people of the province they represent and the country as a whole. Remind them that this is the Senate's opportunity to prove its relevance. It is an unexpected and timely opportunity to show Canadians exactly what the original intent of the "house of sober second thought" is all about, and at the same time show us why the Senate is needed in 2014. This type of correspondence is never read by the recipient. A team of employees processes the response according to guidelines and templates. Your MP or senator never sees it. All email addresses can be found at Parliament of Canada. I emailed all conservative M.P's and conservative Senators and copied Mr. Mulcair, Mr. Trudeau and Ms. May. Specifically, that Elections Canada could no longer promote education about democratic voting rights and procedures in the education system. One of the features of the education systems of the advanced Nordic nations - where about 80%-plus voter turnouts is normal - is their emphasis on citizenship education. Also required: basic education about our financial system and financial life planning. With this bill, all records from the 2011 Robocall investigation would be subject to destruction. This is one of the bills primary goals: To destroy existing evidence that could in turn destroy all Conservative legitimacy to govern for years to come. Party appointed election workers, is patronage at the polls.The people at the polls can know who are party members in any riding. If a party member arrives without proper id the worker can easily discreetly let them vote.Just Imagine the winning party getting to select all the people that work at the poll. Supervisor,deputy returning officer, clerks etc. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservatives-losing-ground-grim-polling-numbers-suggest-1.2555858 Challenging the results of the next election based on this bill could take years as we have already witnessed.Missing from this list is the all important and badly needed ability on the part of EC to compel evidence relating to matters being investigated. Also, the Bill would remove the EC investigator out of EC and over to public prosecutions, which is controlled by the Justice Minister. Harper once said we wouldn't recognize Canada when he was through with it...in 1938 another leader said this..."Give me 10 years and you won't recognize Germany again." No power for Elections Canada to compel testimony in an investigation... probably because the first people they would interview if given the power would be persons of interest from the Conservative who declined to be interviewed during the 2011 robocalls investigation... note the Conservative members in the Senate did not advocate for this power Why don't parties have to provide receipts for election expense reimbursements? Ordinary Canadians have to provide receipts to insurance companies, CRA, and businesses in order to get reimbursements or credits. Why are political parties exempt? This just starts them off with a sense of entitlement. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/senate-panel-to-push-for-changes-to-proposed-fair-elections-act-1.2610003 "The new provisions will take effect only on the day Parliament is dissolved and an election begins — as long as this occurs six months after the bill becomes law." http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Robocalls+registry+place+next+federal+election/9737864/story.html We know the legislation removes the investigation power from Elections Canada and brings it under potential political influence in the justice department. We know that the harperites will interfere in routine police operations (High River). Elections in Canada give the illusion that Canada is a democracy when it is not as long as the political system forces party members to follow the party line. Experts are saying that this Act is not compatable with the Charter and will likely be thrown out by the courts when challenged. This act is actually doing some good by waking up Canadians to Harper's not so hidden agenda. Power at all costs. Even Conservative Senators see how insane this bill is and how much Poilievre is acting like a far-right nut and party hack. Committees are needed to draw up and make changes to the Elections Act and consult with the elections experts. The driving motivation behind this bill is revenge on Elections Canada, pure and simple. Revenge as a motive always leads to disaster. The bill requires the Commissioner of Canada Elections and the Director of Public Prosecutions to keep their rulings on complaints about election law violations secret, which will make it impossible for Canadians to know if they have made fair rulings. Elections Canada should have all the power it needs to root out any false or misleading Information.. Such as sending people to the wrong poles or misleading robocalls. Elections Canada should not have to answer to any party and be independent or any Government involvement. Then there is the Notification of investigation .. The law does not have to tell a person that may be doing something wrong.. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/rcmp-investigate-threatening-letter-written-to- poilievre/article17998819/?utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_source=Globe %20Politics&utm_type=text&utm_content=GlobePolitics&utm_campaign=115616201 What has been particularly offensive throughout the debate of the bill is the arrogance and lack of respect displayed by Harper, Poilievre and some Conservative MPs and Senators, towards respected elections experts and witnesses who voiced legitimate concerns regarding the bill. This government's inability and refusal to engage in mature and reasonable debate and its insistence in rushing legislation is very disfunctional behaviour and damaging to Canada. "Fair elections act:
7 things you may not know"
1. Party-appointed election workers The winning candidate of the previous election — the member of Parliament — choose some of the workers at polling stations. The candidate would select the deputy returning officers, central poll supervisors and poll clerks. Clause 20 would allow a returning officer to refuse appointments on "reasonable grounds."
2. New spending loopholes Clause 86 lets political parties spend as much as they want on election fundraising from people who have contributed $20 or more in the last five years using calls, emails or mailouts. Spending caps ensure an even playing field for all candidates so the change favours richer and established parties to the detriment of small and especially newer parties.
3. CEO gag order The bill's clause 7 would allow the Chief Electoral Officer only five topics:
■How to become a candidate.
■How voters can add their names to the voters list or have it corrected.
■How voters can cast ballots.
■How voters can prove their identity and address.
■How voters with disabilities can get into polling stations and mark their ballots. and no longer be able to alert the public to problems during an election or even to work with programs that teach students about civic affairs and how elections work.
4. Notification of investigation The commissioner of Canada Elections — would have to tell people they are being investigated unless that might compromise or hinder the investigation.
5. Using the voter information card Approximately 400,000 Canadians living on reserves, in long-term care or studying at post-secondary institutions used their VICs as proof of address.Bill C-23 would ban that option. Those without a driver's licence may be unable to prove their address. About 250,000 Canadians move during a five-week election campaign, making some IDs out of sync with their addresses for a few weeks.
6. No party spending audits
7. Robocalls gaps Here is another look at it: 1. Take control of ballots allowed and ballots counting. (Party appointed election workers. - To let an MP turn his riding into a fiefdom. ) 2. Enrich CPC coffers and avoid accountability. (New spending rules - to make sure money can control the government. ) 3. Keep corruption secret. (CEO gag order - to stop the independent watchdog from promoting democracy. ) 4. Get early warning of any investigation. (Notification of investigation - to give crooked MPs time to bury the evidence..) 5. Confuse and disenfranchise voters. (No voter ID cards - to stop students, poor people, and anyone who doesn't drive from voting. ) 6. No receipts required from us. Soak the taxpayer. No one can prove it. (No audits - so no one can see how money controls politics. ) 7. Hide all evidence of corruption a.s.a.p. (Robocall gaps) 8. Whatever we do, don't give Elections Canada any useful auditing powers. If it does find something on us, he... » Are you as disgusted by this as I am? Then do something about it. Send a tweet to a Conservative MP in your riding. Get on your Facebook page and tell your friends. Get active because right now our democracy and freedoms are at risk. http://openparliament.ca/politicians/ Keep parties and candidates from tricking voters with false election promises or advertising, and from breaking election promises willy nilly. On the flip side of that, the commissioner of Canada Elections — the person who investigates possible wrongdoing under the Elections Act — would have to tell people being investigated about the probe." This, to me, sounds exactly like what Mr. Mulcair accused Mr. Harper of when he said this is clearly an attempt to cheat on the next election in advance. What possible good could come of warning the party that is under investigation that you are being investigated? Unfortunately for the next government, this is the latest Bill of an ever lengthening list that it will have to devote its efforts towards repealing. Unfortunately for Canadians, we'll have to wait 18 more months before this process can start. Of course this presumes there won't be another Conservative majority.
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