Canada's former Auditor General Sheila Fraser says the Canadian government's proposed Fair Elections Act is an attack on Canada's democracy
Photo Credit: Adrian Wyld/CP

Former Auditor General calls Fair Elections Act ‘an attack on our democracy’

Canada’s former Auditor General Sheila Fraser has always had a lot of credibility with Canadians. As Auditor General she questioned successive government on their spending. Now no longer auditor general, she’s turned her focus on the Canadian government’s proposed Fair Elections Act, Bill C-23.

Fraser, who co-chairs an advisory board created by Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand last fall, told Joan Bryden of Canadian Press she believes the bill, if allowed to pass without significant amendments, is “an attack on our democracy and we should all be concerned about that”.

“When you look at the people who may not be able to vote, when you look at the limitations that are being put on the chief electoral officer, when you see the difficulties, just the operational difficulties that are going to be created in all this, I think it’s going to be very difficult to have a fair, a truly fair, election.”

The controversial bill is supposed to eliminate voter fraud and control political party spending according to the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. But the opposition parties say it limits who can vote, opens the door for unaccounted for election spending, and is constructed to help the Conservatives get re-elected in the federal election of 2015.

More information:
Canadian Press/Joan Bryden – Bill an attack on democracy: Sheila Fraser – here
RCI – Amend it or pull it, says elections expert about proposed Fair Elections Act – here
Huffington Post – Pierre Poilievre Says Fair Elections Act Is ‘Terrific’ As Is – here
C-23 – Fair Elections Act – status of bill – here

Update April 4, 2014:
Globe and Mail – Bruce Anderson: Conservatives will only lose fighting Sheila Fraser – here

twitter.com/wojtekgwiazda

Categories: Politics, Society
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.