Ignatieff Turns Back On Liberal Senator's Bill

Gee. just months ago, Liberals and journalists were whining about Conservative ads outside the writ period. Undemocratic, sleazy, turning Canadians off of politics. Among the most notable were Yaffe and Aarron Wherry. I'd provide links of all the posts Wherry did bashing the PM for ads outside the writ period, but that would probably overload the internet that Al Gore invented.

Remarkably, the entire MSM is eerily silent now that the Liberals have followed suit with their own ads outside of the writ period. Heck, even the Bloc are running ads. So hypocrisy is obviously at play here in a big way, with the fact that a Liberal senator thought so much of the situation he put forward a bill to have pre-writ spending included in campaign spending limits. Anybody know Iggy's opinion on that bill?

"OTTAWA – Senator Dennis Dawson today introduced Bill S-236, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (election expenses). This bill would classify all advertising bought by political parties in the three months immediately preceding the call of an election as an “election expense,” which would be included in the limits imposed on party expenses during the election campaign itself.


“The Canada Elections Act sets out very strict limits on what a party can spend during election campaigns. This bill simply ensures that if one starts campaigning by advertising just before an election, that spending is caught by the statutory spending limits,” explained Senator Dawson.

“With the introduction of fixed election dates, all parties know when an election will take place and can easily start spending on campaign-style advertising in the months leading up to the call. That undermines the values and fundamental fairness of the Canadian system as found in the spending limits contained in the Canada Elections Act. Frankly, this bill addresses a real gap in the Conservatives’ fixed election date law,” said Senator Dawson.

The bill expands the definition of “election expense” to include a cost incurred, or non-monetary contribution received, by a registered party, an electoral district association or a candidate, for property or a service that is used to directly promote or oppose a registered party, its leader or a candidate, during the three months immediately prior to an election campaign.

Bill S-236 addresses concerns raised in the past by a number of experts, including former Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley. While appearing before a Parliamentary committee in 2006, Mr. Kingsley suggested that fixed election dates would carry with them the need to regulate advertising by political parties before the actual writ period.