Political parties can spend up to $336,996 on byelections
PARLIAMENT HILL—The main national political parties will each be able to spend up to $336,996 to help their candidates in the four federal byelections scheduled for next Monday, June 30—either in all four electoral districts where votes are taking place or two of the ridings or even just one. But three of the parties declined […]
How the Ontario election polls were so wrong yet so right
At first glance, it seems like public opinion polls delivered a poor prediction of the Ontario provincial election outcome. On the day of the election, poll aggregator Éric Grenier described the trend as "likely Liberal, possibly PC victory" with “a likely return to a minority legislature." While admittedly there was a lot of scatter […]
NDP accuses government of ‘ugly, secretive, partisan’ in-camera trial ordering party to pay back $1.17-million
PARLIAMENT HILL—The final days of Commons sittings before the House adjourns for the summer erupted Tuesday into heated exchanges between NDP and Conservative MPs, as the New Democrats accused the government of using an “ugly, secretive, partisan” trial behind closed doors to taint the NDP with a ruling that it violated House bylaws with […]
NDP MP says Tories, Libs going after NDP mailings to influence Ontario election, Grit calls claim ‘absolute paranoid fantasy’
PARLIAMENT HILL—An escalating Conservative and Liberal attack against the NDP—over allegations the NDP broke Commons rules with politically-charged mailings to voters and the establishment of an NDP office in Montreal staffed by aides on the Commons payroll in Ottawa—is an attempt to tarnish the party’s wider image as the Ontario provincial election looms, NDP MP […]
Elections overhaul bill includes loophole that could hinder investigations into fraud between election cycles
PARLIAMENT HILL—Opposition MPs mounting a last stand Tuesday in the face of government closure of debate on controversial election bill discovered yet more “bread crumbs for a starving man” as they realized last-minute Conservative amendments include a loophole that could hinder completion of investigations into fraud on voters between elections. The provision, an amendment to […]
Majority sides with Supreme Court ruling on Senate reform, not Prime Minister’s Office
PARLIAMENT HILL—A majority of Canadians sides with a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that Canada’s Constitution would prevent the federal government from unilateral reforms to the Senate, over Prime Minster Stephen Harper’s position that Parliament should be able to impose a form of Senate elections and new term limits on its own, a […]
Feds ‘making haste’ with massive elections overhaul bill ‘dangerous,’ says expert
PARLIAMENT HILL—A government deadline that drew an abrupt end Thursday to detailed committee examination of its controversial election legislation is a “dangerous” tactic for a new law that is at the core of Canada’s democratic system, one of the country’s leading parliamentary experts says. “This government has been known to try and slip things […]
Director of public prosecutions says feds’ elections bill could lower public confidence
PARLIAMENT HILL—A provision in the government’s sweeping new election legislation contains a provision that could lower public confidence in the way alleged Canada Elections Act violations are investigated, the federal director of public prosecutions warns. One of the most controversial clauses in Bill C- 23, the Fair Elections Act, proposes to transfer the commissioner […]
Elections commissioner ends robocalls investigation, but opposition MPs say report shows Bill C-23 needs to be beefed up
PARLIAMENT HILL—A report from a three-year Elections Canada investigation that found insufficient evidence of widespread attempts to mislead voters with fraudulent telephone calls in the 2011 federal election nonetheless supports calls to beef up the federal election commissioner’s investigative powers, opposition MPs say. The report from Elections Commissioner Yves Coté Thursday highlighted the fact […]
Tory Senators recommend ditching fundraising loophole in C-23 as Liberal donors rise
PARLIAMENT HILL – The number of donors to the Liberal party climbed steadily to 69,000 last year, a total that is up by more than a third from 2012 under the new leadership of Justin Trudeau and suggests the Liberals are building the kind of expertise that could challenge the Conservative fundraising juggernaut as the […]
