Elections Canada gets new powers
Posted Mar 13, 2012 7:19 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The House of Commons unanimously passed a motion Monday night calling on the Harper government to boost Election Canada’s investigative powers.
The government has essentially agreed that it would be a good idea to give Elections Canada more authority.
Because the NDP motion is non-binding, it doesn’t have to follow through with legislation to back it up.
The new powers would give Elections Canada the authority to request financial information from political parties including receipts.
NDP critic David Christopherson said his party will continue pressing for that legislation, while warning the government against procrastination.
The motion that was passed in the House of Commons calls on the government to enact legislation giving expanded powers to investigate election issues within six months.
