Democratic freedom under attack by the "Bastard Party of Canada"

Elections Canada head delivers urgent warning about elections act

'My biggest concern is that at the end of the day, Canadians will be denied the right to vote'

The head of Elections Canada delivered a harsh and detailed critique of the Conservatives’ new elections act at a parliamentary committee on Thursday, but the Tories swiftly signalled that they are unlikely to make many of the changes he proposed.

Minutes after Marc Mayrand finished his testimony, Pierre Poilievre, the minister of state for democratic reform, rose in the House of Commons and repeatedly contradicted his testimony.
Mayrand began by telling MPs that although the act introduces some positive changes it “also includes measures that, in my opinion, undermine the bill’s stated purpose and will not serve Canadians well.”

He told MPs that the bill would create a loophole that will allow parties to overspend, that it fails to give investigators the tools they need to crack down on wrongdoing, and that it would prevent the agency from communicating with the public, violating international norms.

But Mayrand spent most of his time discussing provisions that would make it harder for Canadians without up-to-date identification from voting.

“It is essential to understand that the main challenge for our electoral democracy is not voter fraud, but voter participation,” he told MPs.

Read more: http://o.canada.com/news/elections-canada-head-delivers-urgent-warning-about-elections-act/