In a stunning admission, the former head of Elections Canada, Jean-Pierre Kingsley has come clean about EC being biased when it comes to enforcing the Elections Act:
Kingsley, who served as chief electoral officer between 1990 and 2007, said Wednesday that candidates – especially those running for fringe parties or as independents – deserve a little leniency because they’re making a “statement for democracy.”
“If those guys, those gals get into a little bit of trouble, we have to be careful about that” (see here)
Will the current CEO Marc Mayrand denounce his predecessor or stay silent thus acknowledging that this practise still goes on?
August 8, 2012 at 12:52 PM
Gee Pierre, tell us something we don’t know!!!!
August 8, 2012 at 12:58 PM
I’d love to know if ALL fringe parties are treated equally as well; or if certain faith based parties (such as the Family Coalition) are treated differently than say…the Green Party?
August 8, 2012 at 2:05 PM
[...] Applying the law “unevenly” to encourage “democracy”… Kingsley, who served as chief electoral officer between 1990 and 2007, said Wednesday that candidates – especially those running for fringe parties or as independents – deserve a little leniency because they’re making a “statement for democracy.” [...]
August 8, 2012 at 2:46 PM
At least he is being honest about it. Talk about a need for overhauling the Elections Act.
I bet the same thing goes on at the Provincial level. Here in Alberta it is simply awful how Elections Alberta gives the Tories a free ride.
August 8, 2012 at 3:37 PM
I’d be really shocked if this applied to all fringe parties like Paul said. I can guarantee you that certain left-wing parties enjoyed far more freedom, while the right-wing parties just got to enjoy the scrutiny of Human Rights Commissions.
August 8, 2012 at 3:51 PM
How is this not front page news?? The onus should be on candidates to campaign within their means and make sure they’ll have enough cash to cover their debts in the end.
August 8, 2012 at 4:05 PM
Sorta reminds this old guy of an engineer we had that used to leave stuff off the blueprints.
He would put D.O. F. C. (details omitted for clarity)
August 8, 2012 at 6:00 PM
1990? Must have been appointed by Mulroney. Nice of him to ‘fess up and tell us what we already suspected but couldn’t prove.
i detest this type of mush-brained thinking,”you have to take it easy” on some candidates.
Apply the damned law,fairly,with malice or favour toward none, or go get a job as a social worker.
August 8, 2012 at 6:32 PM
The biggest problem with democracy in this country is that these low-life bureaucrats get to decide who is “making a statement for democracy.” What gives them the right to interpret the law to their warped view of how this country should be governed? It’s the same thing with these judges who don’t like the gun laws so they won’t enforce them. Well, I don’t like the laws related to marijuana useage, so I guess I can just ignore them or interpret them to suit my personal views…NOT!
August 9, 2012 at 2:26 PM
Kingsely – what a monumental twit!
Now that the Liberals are pretty much a “fringe party” maybe this is his excuse for giving them a free pass while putting the screws to Conservatives.