Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to write to my office with your concerns about the Fair Elections Act.
Our government committed in last fall’s speech from the throne to bring forward a comprehensive elections reform proposal that will protect Canadians’ votes at the polls. That is why we’ve introduced the Fair Elections Act.
The Fair Elections Act will ensure citizens are in charge of democracy, by putting special interests on the sidelines and rule-breakers out of business. It will also make it harder for people to break the law.
It closes loopholes in big money, imposes tough new penalties on political imposters and rogue calls, and empowers the commissioner of Canada Elections.
Along with implementing 38 of the chief electoral officer’s past recommendations, the Fair Elections Act introduces sweeping changes to our electoral laws designed to:
* Protect voters from rogue calls and political imposters by punishing those who attempt to deceive Canadians;
* Give the commissioner of Canada Elections sharper teeth, a longer reach and a freer hand to ensure we have strong elections law enforcement;
* Allow small donations in and keep big money out of our elections by ensuring donation limits cannot be circumvented;
* Crack down on voter fraud by ensuring fraudsters are stopped before their ballot is in the box;
* Make rules easy-to-follow for all by making sure rules are clear, predictable and publicly available to everyone;
* Respect the results of democratic elections by ensuring no one individual can reverse the decision of thousands of voters before judicial recourses are exhausted;
* Uphold free speech by repealing the ban on premature transmission of election results; and
* Provide better customer service for voters by adding another advanced poll day and making sure Canadians know where to vote, when to vote and what ID to bring.
Our government’s commitment to enhancing our electoral laws and protecting the integrity of every ballot remains firm. The Fair Elections Act will make our laws tough, clear and easy to follow. It will make life harder for election law-breakers and put the focus back on honest Canadians taking part in our democracy.
You will also find information on the Fair Elections Act on the Democratic Reform website at www.democraticreform.gc.ca
Ryan Leef
Member of Parliament, Yukon