Elections Canada is the national agency that oversees federal elections in Canada. It is one of the institutions that makes Canada the envy of the world for its thriving democracy. But over the past few years, a series of scandals over campaign spending, voter irregularities and robo-calls, automatic phone calls designed to confuse and deter voters, have created a need for reform.
The ruling Conservative government presented the Fair Elections Act yesterday. It contains 38 recommendations, the government maintains will improve election security in Canada.
Among these, are increases in the fines for intentional financial irregularities, the creation of a registry of voter-contact services, and increases in the amount a person can donate to a political party or campaign, including their own.
The proposed bill is getting mixed reviews. Former head of Elections Canada, Jean-Pierre Kingsley, in an interview on CBC TV, said that he would rate it, “overall, a good program”. He has reservations however, about the financial penalties for financial infractions. A fine of $100,000 is proposed, but Kingsley said, “If a political party, running in a federal election, exceeds the ceiling by which it can run its campaign, I think the fine should be double the difference by which they exceeded it” suggesting the fine should increase to a million dollars or more.
Peter Julien, of the opposition New Democratic Party, accused the government having “built in all kinds of loopholes”. In an interview with CBC he said not allowing Elections Canada to examine the books of political parties prevents the transparency the NDP promises. And, about campaign financing, Julien said, “Elections Canada must have the ability to say, when the expense claims at the end of a campaign may have contravened the Election Act, Elections Canada must have some teeth”. Julien wants the national agency to continue to have the power to remove an Member of Parliament from their seat if they overspend on their campaign.
Fair and unfair elections act because it is making moves in both directions
Duff Conacher, of Democracy Watch, says some of the proposed changes are an improvement, but the increases and changes to donations and loans make it easier for only the wealthy to actively participate. Under the proposed changes, “banks will be allowed to loan as much as they want to candidates” said Conacher. And when parliament is regulating the banks this is potentially a conflict of interest. Conacher says it should be called the “fair and unfair elections act because it is making moves in both directions.”
Carmel Kilkenny spoke with Duff Conacher about the pros and cons in this act:
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