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Section IV – Other Items of Interest
New Legislation
In the past year, the Parliament of Canada adopted several significant legislative initiatives that amend the Canada Elections Act – particularly Bill C-31, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Public Service Employment Act, adopted in June 2007 (S.C. 2007, c. 21). Elections Canada implemented the new measures in the by-elections held in September 2007 and again in March 2008. It also responded to the following legislative and judicial activities:
Legislation enacted during 2007–2008
| New Enactments | Details and Impacts |
| An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act, S.C. 2007, c. 10 (formerly known as Bill C-16) | This legislation received royal assent in May 2007. It amends the Canada Elections Act to provide that, unless Parliament is dissolved earlier, a general election must be held on the third Monday in October in the fourth calendar year after polling day for the last general election. If Parliament is not dissolved earlier, the first fixed-date general election would be held on Monday, October 19, 2009. |
| An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Public Service Employment Act, S.C. 2007, c. 21 (formerly known as Bill C-31) |
This legislation received royal assent in June 2007. It requires electors to prove their identity and address before voting. It also amends the Canada Elections Act to, among other things, make operational changes that will improve the accuracy of the National Register of Electors and enhance communications with the electorate. Changes requiring electors to prove their identity and address came into force in July 2007, in time for the three by-elections held on September 17, 2007, in Quebec. The new rules were also applied in the four by-elections held on March 17, 2008, in Toronto, northern Saskatchewan and Vancouver. For the most part, operational changes to the Register and the list of electors did not come into force until March 1, 2008. It is therefore not yet possible to measure their impact on the agency. |
| An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (verification of residence), S.C. 2007, c. 37 (formerly known as Bill C-18) |
This legislation was introduced on November 2, 2007, and received royal assent on December 14, 2007. It amended the Canada Elections Act to solve two problems related to the new requirement (introduced by Bill C-31) that electors must prove their identity and residence prior to voting:
According to the amended Act, if the address on the identification provided by the elector does not prove his or her residence but is consistent with his or her address on the list of electors (often the elector’s mailing address), the elector’s residence is deemed to have been proven. If, however, an election official or a candidate’s representative has reasonable doubts about the residence of that elector, the elector may be requested to take an oath before his or her residence will be deemed to be proven. This change was not in place for the September 17, 2007, by-elections but would not have been required since there are civic addresses for all dwellings in the province of Quebec. The agency has not yet completed evaluation of the March 17, 2008, by-elections and the impact of this change. |
Legislation currently before Parliament
| Proposed Legislation | Details and Impacts |
| Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (visual identification of voters) | This bill would require that electors have their faces uncovered before voting, or registering to vote, in person, and would expand the authority of Elections Canada to appoint sufficient personnel to manage the conduct of the vote at the polls. The bill was referred to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs on November 15, 2007. |
| Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (expanded voting opportunities) | This bill would increase the number of advance polling days from three to five. One of the new days would be the eighth day before polling day and would be governed by the rules currently applicable to advance polling days. The other new advance polling day would be the Sunday immediately before regular polling day. Voting on that day would take place at the same polling stations used for polling day. The bill was originally introduced in the first session of the 39th Parliament as Bill C-55 and was reintroduced in the second session in November 2007 as Bill C-16. The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs has completed its study and submitted its report on the bill to the House, with a number of amendments. |
| Bill C-20, Senate Appointment Consultations Act | This bill provides for the consultation of electors in a province to determine their preferences for the appointment of senators to represent their province. The Chief Electoral Officer would be responsible for administering this legislation and the consultations for which it provides. The bill was originally introduced in the first session of the 39th Parliament as Bill C-43. It was reintroduced in the second session in November 2007 as Bill C-20, and was referred to a special legislative committee for study prior to second reading. The committee is still reviewing the bill. |
| Bill C-22, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (Democratic representation) | This bill would amend the rules in the Constitution Act, 1867, for readjusting the number of members of the House of Commons and the representation of provinces in the House. The bill was originally introduced in the first session of the 39th Parliament as Bill C-56. It was subsequently reintroduced in the second session in November 2007 as Bill C-22. It has not yet been referred to committee. The impact of the bill on Elections Canada is limited. Pursuant to the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, Elections Canada provides support services to the 10 provincial commissions responsible for electoral boundaries readjustment. This process takes place every 10 years after census figures have been gathered and published. The next exercise should start in 2011–2012. Elections Canada will assist the commissions in drawing up maps showing the boundaries of electoral districts in each province, and would include the new districts proposed in the bill. |
| Bill C-29, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (accountability with respect to loans) | This bill was originally introduced in the first session of the 39th Parliament as Bill C-54. It was reintroduced in the second session in November 2007 as Bill C-29 and is now before the Senate. The bill proposes rules concerning loans, guarantees and suretyships that would apply to political entities governed by the Canada Elections Act. |
There are also 16 private members’ bills that deal with aspects of the mandate of Elections Canada. Five would amend various sections of the Canada Elections Act, one would amend the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act and 10 would change the name of an electoral district.
Matters before the Courts
| Cases | Details and Impacts |
| Longley v. Canada (Attorney General) |
This case dealt with the allowance paid quarterly to certain parties. Small registered parties challenged the constitutionality of section 435.01 of the Canada Elections Act, which restricts the payment of the quarterly allowance to parties that meet the popular vote thresholds of 2 percent nationwide or 5 percent locally. In a decision dated December 6, 2007, the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed the decision of the Ontario Superior Court. The Court of Appeal declared that paragraphs 435.01(1)(a) and (b) of the Act contravened section 3 (right to vote) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but were saved under section 1 of the Charter (reasonable limits demonstrably justified). The Court of Appeal stated that paragraphs 435.01(1)(a) and (b) of the Act neither contravene the Charter’s paragraphs 2(b) (freedom of expression) and 2(d) (freedom of association), nor section 15 (equality rights). The Court also determined that a political party is deemed to be a person only for the purposes of judicial proceedings that occur within the context of the Canada Elections Act, particularly Part 19 of the Act (Enforcement). A party therefore cannot have standing to file a constitutional challenge based on the Charter in a standalone proceeding outside the framework of the Act. It can file such a challenge only in the context of enforcement proceedings under Part 19. The Supreme Court has refused leave to appeal. |
| Rae v. Chief Electoral Officer |
The applicant, a leadership contestant in the 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership contest, sought judicial review to determine the circumstances in which entry fees paid by leadership contestants could be returned to the contestants without constituting an illegal transfer under section 404.3 of the Canada Elections Act. In a decision issued in
February 2008, the Federal Court concluded that the prohibition contained in section 404.3 against transfers of funds from the party or electoral district associations to leadership or nomination contestants did not apply when the funds in question had previously been transferred from the contestants to the party and were being “retransferred.” The impact of this decision is not expected to be significant. Elections Canada has not appealed it. |
| L.G. (Gerry) Callaghan et al. v. Chief Electoral Officer | Two candidates are seeking judicial review of the Chief Electoral Officer’s alleged failure to fulfill his duty under section 465 of the Canada Elections Act. Under this provision, if the Chief Electoral Officer is satisfied that the candidate and his or her official agent have complied with their financial reporting obligations, he is required to provide a certificate to the Receiver General for the reimbursement of a portion of the candidate’s election expenses and personal expenses. The Chief Electoral Officer issued certificates for the reimbursement of most of the expenses incurred by the two candidates but was not satisfied that certain expenses had been incurred. Those expenses were excluded from the calculation of the reimbursement. |
| Rose Henry et al. v. Attorney General of Canada and the Chief Electoral Officer | This litigation, initially a petition filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, has been converted into an action against the Attorney General of Canada and the Chief Electoral Officer. The plaintiffs are individuals and groups who challenge the constitutionality of the new identification and vouching requirements in the Canada Elections Act. The applicants assert that the amendments will prevent electors from exercising their right to vote, as guaranteed by section 3 of the Charter. |
| Sa Tan v. Her Majesty The Queen | In the Federal Court of Canada, the applicant filed a challenge to the constitutionality of the provisions of the Canada Elections Act that require a person who seeks nomination as a candidate to provide a $1,000 deposit, appoint a qualified auditor and obtain the signatures of either 50 or 100 electors. These requirements are set out in subsections 66(1) and 67(4) of the Act. |
In a few other cases, Elections Canada is being sued by individuals who allege it was negligent in separate incidents that occurred in or near polling stations during the 39th general election on January 23, 2006. The cases are proceeding through the courts. A few people with visual impairments have also complained to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, alleging that the obligation to seek assistance when casting their vote denies them equal access to the electoral process and discriminates against them by reason of their disability. One of theses cases has been resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant. Elections Canada is exploring solutions to resolve the other complaints and their underlying causes.
Federal Political Contributions and Tax Credits Claimed
The following table shows the number of contributions received by registered political parties and candidates, the total value of the contributions, and the estimated tax credits provided to individuals and corporations, as supported by official tax receipts for the corresponding calendar years. Tax credit amounts fluctuate between electoral events, although they tend to increase with the approach of a general election (see the amounts for 2000 and 2004). Federal political contributions from corporations appear to follow the same trend as those from individuals.
The information on contributions is extracted from Elections Canada records. Information on contributions to candidates is provided only for the general elections of 2000, 2004 and 2006.
The source for information on estimated tax credits claimed by individuals is the yearly edition of Income Statistics, published by the Canada Revenue Agency. For corporations, the source is information from the Statistics and Information Management Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency.
Federal Political Contributions and Estimated Tax Credits Claimed
|
Number of contributions |
|||||||||
|
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004* |
2005* |
2006* |
||
| Registered political parties |
168,369 |
404,780 |
105,447 |
167,971 |
162,395 |
130,328 |
172,409 |
179,193 |
|
| Candidates |
– |
109,155 |
– |
– |
– |
106,705 |
53,610 |
37,708 |
|
| Nomination contestants |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
6,616 |
1,306 |
77 |
|
| Leadership contestants |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
274 |
– |
10,391 |
|
| Registered associations |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
91,083 |
117,549 |
63,519 |
|
| Total |
168,369 |
513,935 |
105,447 |
167,971 |
162,395 |
335,006 |
344,874 |
290,888 |
|
|
Value of contributions ($ thousands) |
|||||||||
|
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004* |
2005* |
2006* |
||
| Registered political parties |
34,194 |
57,100 |
31,540 |
30,440 |
48,389 |
22,434 |
32,935 |
33,816 |
|
| Candidates |
– |
41,392 |
– |
– |
– |
21,227 |
12,674 |
8,892 |
|
| Nomination contestants |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
1,905 |
388 |
44 |
|
| Leadership contestants |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
11 |
– |
6,889 |
|
| Registered associations |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
12,508 |
15,673 |
9,725 |
|
| Total |
34,194 |
98,492 |
31,540 |
30,440 |
48,389 |
58,085 |
61,670 |
59,365 |
|
| *As a result of the implementation of the Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Income Tax Act (political financing) (S.C. 2003, c. 19) in 2004, contributions made to political entities were limited. This explains the decrease in number and value from the 2000 election. | |||||||||
|
Estimated tax credits claimed ($ thousands) |
|||||||||
|
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
||
| Corporations** |
509 |
926 |
875 |
499 |
617 |
1,004 |
721 |
882 |
|
| Individuals |
10,439 |
19,922 |
8,802 |
10,104 |
12,112 |
22,024 |
25,421 |
24,274 |
|
| Total |
10,948 |
20,848 |
9,677 |
10,603 |
12,729 |
23,028 |
26,142 |
25,156 |
|
| **For corporations, for the 2007 tax year, as of December 31, 2007, there were 515,593 corporate returns in the database, representing about 30% of the expected final number of returns (total amount of $114,000). | |||||||||
Contacts for Further Information
|
Address |
Elections Canada 257 Slater Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M6 |
|
Telephone |
1-800-463-6868 toll-free in Canada and the United States 001-800-514-6868 613-993-2975 For people who are deaf or hard of hearing: |
|
Fax |
613-954-8584 1-888-524-1444 toll-free in Canada and the United States |
|
Web site |
www.elections.ca |
Media Information |
|
|
Telephone |
1-877-877-9515 613-993-2224 TTY 1-800-361-8935 |
|
Fax |
613-954-8584 |