"What I know from this bill is that no longer will the referee be on the ice," said Marc Mayrand Canada's Chief Electoral Officer, head of Elections Canada, the agency which is responsible for running federal elections.
Photo Credit: Sean Kilpatrick?CP

Does new election reform reduce effectiveness of Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer?

Listen

The complex issue of electoral reform in Canada has exploded into charges and counter charges since the Minister of Democratic Reform Pierre Poilievre tabled the Canadian government’s election reform bill on Tuesday (February 4) and put into question the neutrality of the Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand.

Two days later Mayrand, who’s been tough in dealing with MPs, including government MPs who have not respected Election Canada rules, suggested that with the new legislation the referee is no longer on the ice.

Here’s how the public education role of the Chief Electoral Officer changes with the new reform:

The original text of the Elections Act outlines the role this way:

Public education and information programs

18. (1) The Chief Electoral Officer may implement public education and information programs to make the electoral process better known to the public, particularly to those persons and groups most likely to experience difficulties in exercising their democratic rights.

Marginal note:Communication with the public

(2) The Chief Electoral Officer may, using any media or other means that he or she considers appropriate, provide the public, both inside and outside Canada, with information relating to Canada’s electoral process, the democratic right to vote and how to be a candidate.

Marginal note:Information outside Canada

(3) The Chief Electoral Officer may establish programs to disseminate information outside Canada concerning how to vote under Part 11.

The new legislation limits that role to the following:

18. (1) The Chief Electoral Officer may provide the public, both inside and outside Canada, with information on the following topics only:

(a) how to become a candidate;

(b) how an elector may have their name added to a list of electors and may have corrections made to information respecting the elector on the list;

(c) how an elector may vote under section 127 and the times, dates and locations for voting;

(d) how an elector may establish their identity and residence in order to vote, including the pieces of identification that they may use to that end; and

(e) the measures for assisting electors with a disability to access a polling station or advance polling station or to mark a ballot.

RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda has a report.

Listen

More information:
Fair Elections Act – text/info on progress of bill – here
Canada Elections Act – full text – here
CBC News – Election reforms would bring big changes to campaign spending – here
Toronto Star – Tories’ elections bill could disenfranchise voters: Mayrand – here
CBC News – Elections head feels benched by electoral reform bill – here
RCI (May 2013) – Chief Electoral Officer: Canada needs to move from 19th to 21st century – here

twitter.com/wojtekgwiazda

Categories: Politics
Tags:

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.