Province to Regulate Third-party Involvement in Elections

A proposed amendment to the recently introduced Elections Act will regulate election advertising by third parties. The amendment will be introduced Wednesday, May 11, during the Law Amendments Committee meeting.

Bill No. 59, the Elections Act, was introduced Friday, May 6, to modernize legislation and provide clarity for voters and candidates.

"This model of third-party regulation balances the right to free expression with the importance of fair and transparent election campaigns," said Justice Minister Ross Landry. "If a third party was able to spend on advertising without limits, that spending could have an unfair impact on an election."

The Supreme Court has already determined that reasonable limits on third-party advertising are appropriate to protect the integrity of the election process. The proposed model is based on the Canada Elections Act and upheld by the Supreme Court.

"We've considered the recommendation of the chief electoral officer and heard from interested parties after introducing the new act," said Mr. Landry. "There's clear consensus that we need to move forward immediately and regulate advertising by third parties during an election."

Under the act, third parties will be allowed to spend a maximum of $10,000 on election advertising. No more than $2,000 may be spent in a single constituency. These limits will apply to any third party, including a corporation, trade union, organization or an individual. The amendment also contains rules to prevent third parties from subdividing or joining together to avoid adhering to spending limits.

Third parties will have to clearly identify themselves in any advertising. They will also have to register with the Chief Electoral Officer if they spend over $500 on election advertising. The Chief Electoral Officer will maintain a registry of third parties.

The following communications are not considered third-party advertising:

• the transmission to the public of an editorial, a debate, a speech, an interview, a column, a letter, a commentary or news
• the distribution of a book, or the promotion of the sale of a book, for no less than its commercial value, if the book was planned to be made available to the public regardless of whether there was to be an election
• the transmission of a document directly by a person or a group to their members, employees or shareholders
• the transmission by an individual, on a non-commercial basis on the Internet, of his or her personal political views.

The Elections Act is expected to be considered by the House of Assembly before the end of the current session.