Compliance Agreements
COMMISSIONER OF CANADA ELECTIONS
CANADA ELECTIONS ACT
Compliance agreement
This notice is published by the Commissioner of Canada Elections pursuant to section 521 of the Canada Elections Act, S.C. 2000, c. 9.
On January 13, 2005, the Commissioner of Canada Elections, pursuant to section 517 of the Canada Elections Act, entered into a compliance agreement with the contracting party, by its authorized signatory Gerry Nicholls of the city of Toronto, in the province of Ontario, in Canada.
The contracting party was a respondent to a charge brought by the Commissioner of Canada Elections for an alleged breach of section 353 of the Canada Elections Act, by failing to register as a third party during the election period of the 37th general election held on November 27, 2000. The contracting party incurred expenses greater than $500.00 to run a television advertisement nationally, on a number of dates, during the 2000 election period. This advertisement featured photographic depictions of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Premier Lucien Bouchard and featured the following message: "The Chretien government is taking a page out of Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard's book. It's passed an election gag law. We're challenging the gag law in the courts. We need your help. Don't let them take away our Canadian freedoms."
Prior to the conclusion of the agreement, the Commissioner of Canada Elections took into account that
- the contracting party registered as a third party during the 2004 general election and subsequently complied with the disclosure provisions required by section 359 of the Canada Elections Act for the 2004 general election; and
- the contracting party provided the Commissioner with the registration information required under subsections 353(2) and 353(3) of the Act in relation to the 37th general election.
In summary, the agreement required the contracting party to
- acknowledge the validity of the third party election advertising provisions of the Canada Elections Act;
- admit to the truth of the facts stipulated above; and
- undertake to make all reasonable efforts to comply with the Canada Elections Act in the future.
Ottawa, January 25, 2005
RAYMOND A. LANDRY
Commissioner of Canada Elections