Schadenfreude north of the border: the Canadian federal election may be illegal

[GliderGuider]

Democracy Watch Files Court Challenge of Prime Minister's Federal Election Call -- Violates Both Fixed Election Date Law and Charter Rights

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

OTTAWA - Today, Democracy Watch released details about the application it has filed in the Federal Court of Canada challenging the legality of the recent federal election call.

Democracy Watch has applied for an order that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's advice to the Governor General of Canada on September 7, 2008 to dissolve Parliament and call an election violated the fixed election date measures that Bill C-16 added to the Canada Elections Act because a vote of non-confidence in the Conservative government had not yet occurred in the House of Commons, and therefore the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of the election was illegal.

Democracy Watch is filing this case not only to challenge the calling of the current election, but also to win a ruling that will prohibit future prime ministers from calling elections before a vote of non-confidence in the House of Commons has occurred.

Everything Conservative government Cabinet ministers and representatives said about their Bill C-16 in the House of Commons and Senate made it clear that the legal effect of the Bill is to require the government (whether minority or majority) to lose a vote of confidence in the House of Commons before the Prime Minister can advise the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call an election:

It looks to me like they have a good case. If they win, the Canadian Federal election now underway will grind to an immediate halt. This is one of the mopre interesting developments in Canadian politics in recent years. Snicker.

[rurallib]

1. That is very interesting. Is Harper trying to have an election that is

at a time most favorable to him?
I just assumed there had been a no-confidence vote.

[GliderGuider]

2. There was no non-confidence vote.

Harper's just trying to wrong-foot the Dionysians.

[arthritisR_US]

4. you are absolutely right! n/t

[arthritisR_US]

3. they should also address the fact that here in Alberta Harper was running campaign

ads on the telly 2 weeks before the election was even called. His was the only party doing so and I kept asking people what was up with that? He in essence had two weeks of advance campaigning, totally undemocratic if you ask me.