Diary of Matters of Interest for the 42nd Parliament
| Author | Gregory Tardi |
| Pages | 65-115 |
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12
DIAY F MATTERS F INTEEST
FOR THE 42ND PALIAMENT
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015
LITIGATION: In the case of Engel v Alberta (Executive Council), a citizen
attempted to prohibit the holding of a general election in Alberta outside
the period set out in the province’s statutory provisions for fixed- period
elections. e applicant asserted that the law amounted to a promise to
abide by its terms, one that he relied upon.
rough the prism of analysis on an application for injunction, the
court looked at section .() of the Alberta Election Act to determine
whether an election can be held outside the period set out in the statute.
By analogy to section . of the Canada Elections Act as interpreted in
the Conacher case (see page ), it concluded that by convention, the
Lieutenant Governor may take a number of factors other than the statute
into consideration in acceding to a request for dissolution and the hold-
ing of an election. It found that there is no evidence that the applicant’s
Charter section rights would be aected if an election is held earlier
than promised. ere is no evidence that an election held earlier than set
out in section . would have an adverse eect on political parties other
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ANATOMY F AN ELECTION
than the governing party. Finally, the court also determined that there
is no evidence that an election held earlier than set out in section .
would disadvantage the applicant as a potential candidate.
e analysis that the power of the Lieutenant Governor to act on the
advice of the premier and dissolve the Legislative Assembly for an elec-
tion trumped discussion of the promissory nature of the fixed-period
provision in the Act.
TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2015
LITIGATION: Klevering v Canada (Attorney General) dealt with a leftover
issue of the robo-calls scandal in the electoral district of Guelph, Ontario,
during the st federal general election of May , . Brother Klevering
had attempted to contest the validity of the results in Guelph, arguing
that the calls misdirected voters; he was relying on section of the
Canada Elections Act. e court took seriously the deadline for applying for
election contestation. It followed the case of McEwing v Canada (Attorney
General). e standard set in subsection (b) of the Act relates to the
date on which the applicant knew or should have known of the activity
complained of in the application for contestation. As Klevering made
his application far too late, it was dismissed upon the motion of Frank
Valeriote, the MP elected in Guelph, notwithstanding the robo-calls.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2015
GENERAL ELECTION: e nd federal general election was held. e
Liberal Party of Canada was elected with a majority of seats in the
House of Commons, which comprises seats.
LITIGATION: In the case of Olumide v Conservative Party of Canada, the
Federal Court of Appeal examined the issue of a political party’s refusal
of a candidacy. e applicant’s allegations that the Oce of the Prime
Minister played a role in his inability to secure the Conservative Party
nomination in the electoral district of Kanata–Carleton in , and
that the Conservative Party and government actors created a plan to
enable him to be a candidate as long as he did not win, were said to be
2 2015 FCA 152.
3 2013 FC 525. (See also pages 724–26 in Appendix 3)
4 2015 FCA 218.
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Diary of Matters of Interest for the 42nd Parliament
without an iota of evidence. As political parties are not federal bo ards,
commissions, or other tribunals, pursuant to section of the Federal
Courts Act, neither the Federal Court nor the Federal Court of Appeal
have jurisdiction to issue the requested remedy. e consequence of this
case was to reinforce the ability of political parties to administer their
own internal rules.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2015
FORMING GOVERNMENT: Following the victory of the Liberal Party of
Canada at the general election, with a majority of the seats in the House
of Commons, its leader, Justin Trudeau, MP for Papineau, QC, was sworn
in as prime minister. e members of the Cabinet were also sworn in.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015
PARLIAMENT: Governor General David Johnston issued a Proclamation
setting ursday, December , as the day on which the nd Parlia-
ment of Canada should convene.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015
PARLIAMENT: e nd Parliament convened for its First Session. at
session has endured throughout the entire Parliament. Hon Geo Regan,
MP, was elected Speaker of the House.
THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016
LITIGATION: e case of Shebib v Canada arose out of the nd federal
general election of October , . is was the first of a number of
court rulings on matters of election law that were rendered during the
life of the nd Parliament that do not involve great fundamental prin-
ciples of election law, such as those discussed in Chapter , but that are
nevertheless of interest in that they impact the legal environment for the
rd election.
5 Canada Gazette, Part II, EXTRA, Vol 149, No 5.
6 2016 FC 539.
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