Government Introduces Amendment Relating to the Canada Elections Act (Party Registration)

The Honourable Rob Nicholson, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform, today introduced in the House of Commons an amendment relating to the Canada Elections Act (party registration).

“This legislation will uphold the integrity of the Canada Elections Act by ensuring that valid political party registration rules remain in effect. At the same time, the requirement for mandatory review will provide certainty that Members of Parliament will have the opportunity to re-examine the registration rules and bring forward any concerns they may have,” stated Minister Nicholson.

In response to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Figueroa v. A.G. (Canada) in 2003, the Government passed Bill C-3 in May 2004 to replace 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 party registration system.

A sunset clause was included in Bill C-3 to ensure that the new rules would be reviewed within two years. However, when Parliament was dissolved in November 2005, the review had not yet begun. If no action is taken, the sunset clause would come into operation on May 15, 2006 and the party registration rules in the Canada Elections Act would be repealed. The bill being introduced today repeals the sunset clause and replaces it with a provision requiring a mandatory review of the new registration rules within two years by a committee of the House of Commons and a committee of the Senate.

For information contact:
Office of the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
(613) 952-4930

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