Site MenuAdvisory Committee of Political Parties – Meeting Summary – February 13 and 14, 2019
4. Political Entities Service Centre Update
Presenter: Christopher Morris (Procedures Officer)
Mr. Morris opened by discussing the impacts of Bill C-76 on candidate nominations specifically with regard to the new candidate ID policy, nomination requirements and the candidate endorsement process that will come into force on June 13, 2019.
Mr. Morris continued with an introduction to Election Canada’s new Political Entities Service Centre (PESC) offering as a part of our commitment to modernizing our operations. PESC serves three primary functions. It is (1) a secure online portal that hosts and supports EC’s political entity services; (2) an online repository, centralizing access to EC’s digital materials; and (3) an electronic channel to securely submit political financing information and candidate nominations.
Elections Canada answered a range of questions including about:
- Changes to requirements governing alternate candidate names (e.g. nicknames) on the ballot;
- Candidate bank accounts;
- Auditor requirements; and
- The new process for parties to endorse candidates was explained (submitting the names of the candidates per electoral district)
- Electors consenting to candidacy (100 signatures) – where it was explained that although the Nomination form was changing, the legislative requirements remain the same. As such EC will accept signatures submit on both the old and new form; however it was highlighted that collecting signatures early may result in a higher number of signatures being rejected due to electors moving, etc.
The session was concluded with a solicitation of feedback from political parties on items they wished to see included in the PESC political party dashboard. Parties were invited to email feedback to Elections Canada.