Justice Edward Morgan strikes down the controversial provisions of Ontario Election Law

BY PAUL JUNOR

On Tuesday, June 8^th, 2021 Justice Edward Morgan struck down the controversial provisions of Ontario Election Law. In a press release by Working Families spokesperson Patrick Dillion, he hailed the ruling as a strong affirmation of the importance of working Ontarians. He states that it is “A major victory for working Ontarians. The decision that nullifies key provisions of the Ford government Bill 254, the Protecting Ontario Elections Act, 2021, were found unconstitutional and violated the Charter section 2(b) freedom of expression).”

There were great concerns expressed by various unions when the Ontario government announced in 2017 that it would be making amendments to the Election Finance Act, which were subsequently followed by major changes in 2020. It was in January 2018 that Working Families launched the legal challenge amended to reflect the changes made in 2020. The Ontario Superior Court decided to hear the case on June 2^nd and June 3^rd to ensure that its ruling would come timely.

The Ontario election is scheduled for June 2022. Spokesperson Dillon states, “The Ford government’s overarching legislation amounted to an assault on freedom of expression, which is constitutionally protected by the Charter. We are pleased that the Court recognized this and struck those restrictive provisions.”   Furthermore, he notes that working Ontarians would benefit from this ruling. He adds, “Elections belong to the people and not governments or political parties. Independent voices need to be heard so that important issues can be discussed during elections and not just those chosen by politicians and corporate media interests.”

In an article by William Paul in School Magazine, he describes what Bill 254, Protecting Ontario Elections Act, 2021 was intended to accomplish. ”It made changes to the Election Finance Act that restricted third party advertising from groups like unions or anyone else interested in participating in the electoral process by criticizing a sitting government, pushing for a better housing, stronger response to climate change, better conditions for people in long term care, improvements to health care and so on.” He states simply “It seeks to protect elections by making them less open to people who want to get out a message.”

The three teachers unions, ETFO, OECTA and OSSTF were supportive of this legal challenge. They released a joint statement titled, “Ford government’s survival is more important than Ontarios’ Charter rights.” After the Ontario government announced that it would invoke the notwithstanding clause to overrule Justice Morgan’s ruling. It notes,”The Ford government ‘s decision to inappropriately use the notwithstanding clause to override the Charter to silence Ontarians’ voices and legitimate criticism is outrageous.”