Government Introduces Amendment Relating to the
Canada Elections Act
The
Honourable Mauril Bélanger, Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of
Commons, Minister for Internal Trade, Minister responsible for Official
Languages and Associate Minister of National Defence, today introduced in the
House of Commons an amendment relating to the Canada Elections Act.
The
amendment repeals a sunset clause adopted in 2004 as part of Bill C-3 wherein
certain provisions relating to the registration of political parties will
cease to have effect on
May 15, 2006
, two
years after their coming-into-force. The clause would be replaced by one that
requires a mandatory review of the new registration rules by a committee of
the House of Commons.
“This
legislation will ensure that political party registration rules remain in
effect until Members of Parliament have had the opportunity to review them, in
the context of a thorough examination of all aspects of the Elections Act
which the Committee on Procedure and House Affairs is set to undertake,”
stated Minister Bélanger.
In
response to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Figueroa
v. A.G. (Canada), Bill C-3 replaced the requirement that registered
political parties field at least 50 candidates in a general election with a
one-candidate threshold and made a range of other modifications to the Canada
Elections Act to prevent abuse of the electoral system. The sunset clause
was introduced in order to ensure that positions expressed by various
intervenors during the legislative process, including Parliamentarians and the
Chief Electoral Officer, would be revisited within a set timeframe.
The
amendment introduced today calls for a full review of these provisions within
two years. The Government has made it clear that it would welcome a decision by
the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to conduct this review at
the same time as it considers the upcoming report by the Chief Electoral Officer
on political financing. This report,
expected later this Fall, will trigger a statutorily-mandated review of new
political financing rules, issues that are closely linked to party registration.
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For information:
Shawn Salewski
Office of the Honourable Mauril Bélanger
(613) 952-6732
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