The Liberal government is standing by its campaign finance law, which the Working Families coalition of unions is challenging in court as unconstitutional. As first disclosed by the Star, the unions feel the spending limits on election advertising are a violation of “the fundamental right to free expression guaranteed under section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” But Attorney General Yasir Naqvi is confident the law that passed unanimously a little more than a year ago can survive a constitutional challenge. “We believe our rules have achieved that balance and comply with the Charter,” said Naqvi’s press secretary Andrew Rudyk.
“In developing the third-party advertising rules . . . the government referred the legislation to a legislative committee after first reading to enable broader consultation and a wider scope for amendment than is ordinarily the case,” said Rudyk.
“We listened carefully to the views presented to the legislative committee and made changes to the legislation to address concerns,” he said.
“Regarding third-party advertising, these included tightening the definition of political advertising and the provision of criteria for the chief electoral officer to consider in determining whether an advertisement constitutes political advertising.”
Full Article: Government stands by its campaign finance law | Toronto Star.