A group of Canadians challenging the election wins of seven Conservative MPs has scored a victory along the road to getting the main case heard in Federal Court. The court has ruled in favour of the challengers denying a motion by the Conservative Party to force them to put down hundreds of thousands of dollars as a security deposit. Nine people, backed by the Council of Canadians, are challenging the election wins of seven Conservative MPs. They argue fraudulent or abusive phone calls targeted those seven ridings in an attempt to discourage voters from casting ballots on May 2, 2011, and that the election results should be nullified.
The Conservative MPs argued last month in Federal Court that the applicants should put down a combined $260,409 as a security deposit in case the applicants lose the case. The applicants have each posted $1,000 as security for costs. The Conservatives argued the applicants wanted the most extreme remedy, a nullification of the election results, and that the MPs were forced to defend themselves at great expense.
Full Article: Election challenge clears another hurdle in Federal Court – Politics – CBC News.