OTTAWA – Canada’s chief elections officer will act to prevent hate groups from getting tax breaks and listing voters’ names and addresses by registering as a political party.
Electoral College chief Stéphane Perrault has told MPs he is preparing to propose safeguards to make it difficult for extremists to access benefits, including airtime, designed for parties politics.
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Elections Canada, last year asked Perrault to look into the matter after it was reported that groups promoted racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia access to these benefits.
LeBlanc wrote to Perrault expressing concern about the “space” in the existing rules that allows “hate groups to access legitimate political interests with the express purpose of disseminating the public opinion”. hate message.”
Ministerial offices are particularly concerned about giving hate groups the names and addresses of racist Canadians for fear they could be targeted.
At a recent meeting of a House of Commons procedure committee, Liberal MP Ryan Turnbull asked the election chief about the possibility that hate groups “gain privileged access” under the election rules. .
Perrault said the individual “a matter of concern” is that “hate groups cannot use the privileges set forth in the Canada Elections Act, the Income Tax Act – whether it’s the electoral roll.” tri, whether it’s access to special platforms, airtime, or tax credits.”
He said he planned to make recommendations next month to tackle the issue, possibly including a higher limit on registering as a political party, in a report to Congress. election association.
Perrault did not detail the specific measures the report could include as it needs to be introduced to Parliament first.
The report is also expected to address ways to make voting easier in remote areas and First Nations reserves after it emerged that some Indigenous communities did not have access to polling stations at the election.
The Canadian National Party, a far-right group that advocates for a state dominated by Europeans, was registered as a political party in Canada in 2019.
This means that the group, which is also calling for the withdrawal of public funding for the Pride parades, can issue tax breaks on contributions to its cause and access the names and home addresses of everyone. registered voters in Canada.
A group wishing to register as a federal political party must apply to the chief election officer. The application must include the names, addresses and signatures of 250 voters who declare they are members of the party and support the party’s registration.
It must also include the party’s “fundamental purpose,” as well as that party’s policy on protection of personal information, among other things.
Bernie Farber, president of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said, “Our election rules will allow even the most severe neo-Nazis in Canada to become a legitimate political party with just a few minutes. hundred signatures”.
“Once given status, these dangerous extremists will have a complete electoral roll, give out the personal information of every Canadian voter, make people anti-racism, human rights, and people who are against racism,” he said. and civil rights, politicians, journalists and many others could be at risk.”
“Those who might want to cause harm now have access to what they need.”
This Canadian Press report was first published on March 2, 2022.
