Press Releases and Media Advisories

CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER ANNOUNCES POLICY ON APPLICATION OF
BRITISH COLUMBIA SUPREME COURT DECISION

OTTAWA, Thursday, June 10, 2004 — The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Jean-Pierre Kingsley, today announced the position which Elections Canada will take in the current general election respecting the enforcement of the prohibition on the premature transmission of election results in electoral districts where the polls have not yet closed (s. 329 of the Canada Elections Act).

Section 329 prohibits any person from transmitting the result or purported result of the vote in an electoral district to the public in another electoral district before the close of all of the polling stations in that other electoral district.

On October 23, 2003, in R. v. Bryan, the British Columbia Supreme Court, sitting on appeal from a decision of the B.C. Provincial Court, held that section 329 was contrary to section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and could not be justified under section 1 of the Charter. As a result section 329 is of no force and effect in British Columbia. Leave to appeal the decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court to the British Columbia Court of Appeal was granted on March 11, 2004 but the appeal has not yet been heard.

The Chief Electoral Officer has reviewed the B.C. Supreme Court decision with Raymond Landry, the Commissioner of Canada Elections, whose duty it is to ensure that the Canada Elections Act is complied with and enforced. In consequence, Mr. Kingsley announced that, to achieve uniform application of the Act across the country, the decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court will be applied across Canada in the current general election pending a decision from the British Columbia Court of Appeal.

This decision does not apply to any prosecutions currently before the courts or complaints received by the Commissioner of Canada Elections relating to incidents that took place prior to the decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court.

Mr. Kingsley's announcement is in line with past practice to apply decisions of the superior courts of the country respecting the constitutionality of the Canada Elections Act uniformly across Canada in elections.

Elections Canada is an independent body set up by Parliament.

Information:
Elections Canada Media Relations
1 877 877-9515
or at www.elections.ca