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The
National Citizens Coalition will be in the Supreme Court
of Canada tomorrow to fight the election gag law and to
defend democracy and free speech. "Our argument to
the Supreme Court will be clear-cut," says NCC vice
president Gerry Nicholls. "This gag law strips away
the democratic rights and freedoms of all citizens. It
has no place in a free society." The gag law imposes
severe restrictions on what private citizens or groups
can spend to express opinions during elections and also
forces those wishing to express opinions to register with
Elections Canada. The NCC says the gag law stifles free
speech and gives political parties a monopoly on debate
during elections. "This is a David vs. Goliath legal
battle," says Nicholls. "Practically the entire
Canadian political establishment will be in court tomorrow
to oppose us and to support gag laws." Nicholls notes
that the side supporting the gag law will include lawyers
representing the federal government, the Ontario government,
the Quebec government and the Manitoba government. "This
is going to be a tough fight," says Nicholls. "But
it's a fight we must win. If we lose, democracy loses.
If we lose, freedom loses. In a democracy citizens should
not be thrown into jail for simply expressing a political
opinion." For more information on the gag law visit
the NCC's web site www.morefreedom.org
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Contact:Gerry
Nicholls
Vice President, National Citizens Coalition
www.morefreedom.org
Phone: 416-869-3838 | Fax: 416-869-1891 | Cell: 647-223-2617
Election Gag Law
Let the people speak There is no defence for a policy
that silences third parties in an election campaign, says
citizens' advocate
By
Gerry Nicholls
The Globe & Mail, Feb 9, 2004
Tomorrow,
the Supreme Court of Canada will be the site of a historic
legal brawl pitting my group, the National Citizens Coalition,
against the full might of the federal political establishment.
Of course what makes this case historic isn't who is fighting
whom, but rather what's at stake - the democratic rights
and freedoms of all Canadians. The NCC is challenging
an obnoxious piece of federal legislation - part of the
Canada Elections Act - known as the election gag law.
The
gag law makes it illegal for private citizens or non-partisan,
independent organizations to freely and effectively communicate
ideas or opinions during federal elections. It essentially
prohibits private citizens or groups from spending their
own money on election ads that support or oppose political
parties and candidates. It also imposes severe restrictions
on the ability of citizens or groups to run ads on any
issues that might be associated with any political party
or candidate. That means non-partisan ads raising public
awareness about the Kyoto Treaty, or the same-sex marriage
issue, or gun control could be effectively banned during
elections. Under this law you need permission from Elections
Canada if you plan to spend more than $500 on election
advertising. And getting permission means enduring a regulatory
procedure that could be costly, burdensome and invasive.
Failure to comply with the gag law can result in imprisonment.
If
all this sounds scary to you, you're not alone. That's
why we challenged this law in the courts immediately after
it was enacted four years ago. Our argument was simple.
The gag law denies all Canadians basic democratic freedoms
guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These
include freedom of thought, freedom of opinion, freedom
of expression and freedom of association.
For
its part, the federal government concedes the gag law
infringes on our freedoms but argues it's a "necessary
infringement" to ensure what they call a "level
playing field." Their argument goes roughly like
this: Since political parties face limits on how much
they can spend during elections it's only fair that third
parties (meaning anybody who is not a politician) should
also be limited.
An
alluring argument, but also a misleading one. Indeed,
under the gag law, Canada's political playing field is
anything but level. For instance, under this law, third
parties can only spend $150,000 nationally on election
ads. Political parties and their candidates, meanwhile,
can spend nearly 200 times that amount - up to $30-million.
And under the gag law, third parties can only spend $3,000
in any particular riding on election advertising. Political
candidates meanwhile can spend 20 times that amount -
up to $60,000. Hardly a level playing field.
And
let's not forget all the other advantages political parties
- and only political parties - enjoy. The Canada Elections
Act, for example, requires Canadian television and radio
broadcasters to provide free time to registered political
parties. That provision does not extend to third parties
who must pay for all their broadcast time. And, unlike
third parties, candidates are eligible for taxpayer-funded
reimbursements of 60% of their election expenses. Also,
thanks to a recently passed law, political parties now
enjoy annual taxpayer-funded subsidies amounting to millions
of dollars.
The
government isn't taking out its gag law bulldozer to level
the political playing field. It's using it to crush our
individual freedoms to give political parties and professional
politicians a monopoly on debate during elections. The
net effect of the gag law will be to muzzle independent,
non-partisan voices. That's not only undemocratic, it's
anti-democratic. Why should political parties, which are
nothing more or less than voluntary associations of citizens,
have more freedom to speak out than other voluntary associations
of citizens? In a true democracy all citizens should have
the freedom to participate in the election process, to
speak out effectively during elections and just as importantly
to be exposed to all points of view.
Fortunately,
so far the courts have rejected the government's phony
gag law arguments. Indeed, in 2002, the NCC convinced
the Alberta Court of Appeal to rule the gag law unconstitutional.
But the government, unwilling to concede defeat, appealed
its loss to the highest court in the land. So now the
fate of Canada's democratic freedoms rests in the hands
of the Supreme Court judges, who must weigh the government's
argument that this law is based on "necessity."
We can only hope the court heeds the words of the 18th-century
British prime minister William Pitt the Elder, who noted:
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of
human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the
creed of slaves." In short, gag laws suit tyrannies.
Not democracies.
Gerry
Nicholls is vice-president of the National
Citizens Coalition, a pro-free-enterprise advocacy group.
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