TORONTO, Mar 12 (Lifesitenews.com) An Ontario court decision released Wednesday resulted in the number of candidates needed to register a political party drop from fifty to two. Ontario Court Justice Anne Molloy also eliminated the requirement of 15% of the vote in order to receive back half of the $1,000 deposit required to run. Molloy agreed with the Communist Party of Canada, who challenged the Elections Act, that certain parts of the Act violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Molloy indicated that the regulations around Broadcast time allocation and reimbursement of election expenses provided for in the Act remain unchanged.
Ron Gray, leader of the Christian Heritage Party, told LifeSite that, if that is the case, the most unjust element contained in the Elections Act has not been addressed in the judge’s ruling. “The practice of refunding 50 per cent of election expenses to candidates who achieve 15 per cent of the popular vote is actually extortion of funds from the public purse,” said Gray. “This rebate is paid from general revenue, i.e., taxes, which means that you (if you are a taxpayer) are compelled, through the coercive powers of the federal government, to help finance the campaigns of parties and candidates whose policies you may disagree with or may even find morally reprehensible.”
For more on the CHP contact: Ron Gray, (613) 788-3716 [email protected]
Source: Canadian Press