Green Party challenges Election Act
March 31, 2008
Millvale - The Green Party of PEI is challenging the constitutionality of the Province's Election Act and will commence legal action if the Act is not amended by July 2.
In a letter from Toronto lawyer Peter Rosenthal, the Green Party urges PEI Attorney General Gerard Greenan to amend the Act so that the time and expense of legal proceedings can be avoided. The Election Act requires that each candidate in a provincial election post a deposit of $200. Section 42 of the Act denies the return of the deposit to candidates unless they are elected or receive at least half as many votes as are received by the candidate who is elected.
"Seizing candidate deposits was ruled unconstitutional in 1999 at the federal level and in 2007 the Green Party of Ontario challenged similar provincial election legislation and won," said Green Party leader Sharon Labchuk. "Peter Rosenthal won both cases so we hope these precedent setting rulings will convince the Liberal government to amend the Act and return all candidate deposits from the 2007 election."
The Ontario Superior Court, in the Green Party of Ontario challenge, said that by stacking the deck against small parties attempting to grow, such deposit requirements interfered with the rights of candidates and supporters of small political parties to participate in elections and thus contravened the electoral fairness required by section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The judge said effective communication required financial resources, and those having access to the most financial resources may be able to monopolize the election discourse.
"There is no purpose for the deposit other than to punish candidates that receive lesser numbers of votes," said Labchuk. "If we are forced to commence legal action, we will seek damages in addition to a finding of unconstitutionality, on the grounds that the Attorney General has been negligent or willfully blind with respect to his responsibility to recommend amendment of a clearly unconstitutional statute."
The Province seized deposits from all 18 Green Party candidates for a total of $3600.
Contact: Sharon Labchuk 902-621-0719 or 902-940-1262
www.greenparty.pe.ca