Canada’s Minister of State for Democratic Reform Pierre Poilievre continued to praise the federal government’s proposed Fair Elections Act this week. On Friday (April 4) faced with more criticisms of the legislation, he said the agency responsible for conducting elections in Canada, Elections Canada, was doing “a terrible job”.
The minister’s response came after two days of attempts by opposition members to get the minister to respond to the latest criticisms of the government’s reforms, criticisms from Canada’s former Auditor General, Sheila Fraser, who called the legislation “an attack on our democracy”.
The controversial Bill C-23 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.
RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda has a report.
ListenMore information:
RCI – Former Auditor General calls Fair Elections Act ‘an attack on our democracy’- here
Huffington Post – Pierre Poilievre Says Fair Elections Act Is ‘Terrific’ As Is – here
Mandate of Elections Canada – here
C-23 – Fair Elections Act – status of bill – here
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