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Ontario's Rigged Election Laws Challenged By Smaller Parties

None of the Above Party - logo

Several small and new parties are seeking a hearing on an urgent basis in January 2018 for a Charter Challenge against Ontario’s rigged election laws.

Our elections are run like a horse race where the win, place and show horses are in the winner’s circle celebrating before the gates for the other horses even open, democracy eh?”
— Greg Vezina, NOTA Party Leader

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, December 15, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Ontario’s None of The Above Direct Democracy Party (“NOTA Party”) Leader Greg Vezina announced several smaller and new parties are launching a Charter Challenge against more than a dozen of Ontario’s rigged election laws and they seeking a hearing on an urgent basis in January 2018.

The NOTA Party leader made personal presentations before the Ontario legislature in 2016 for which Ontario’s Chief Electoral Officer was in attendance and in 2017 pointing out serious flaws in and needed changes to Ontario’s election laws, the majority of which were ignored. The NOTA Party nominated eight candidates in the 2014 election, have already nominated more than 30 on the way to 124 (one in each riding) for the 2018 election.

Notwithstanding multiple rulings that political party activities are reviewable by Courts, and with corporate contributions of anything that promotes or opposes a candidate or party now being illegal, pollsters, news and new media companies continue to consciously conspire with the major parties to keep all others out of leaders’ debates, all candidates debates and from qualifying for public subsidies.

Third parties such as industry or labour controlled special interest groups and foundations are sponsoring debates and campaign events covered by the mainstream media that unfairly exclude most candidates and can even be used to circumvent new spending limits in the six months before and during campaigns.

News and social media, search engines and news aggregators are reporting biased polls proven incorrect by extensive research by CBC Poll Analyst and founder of ThreeHundredEight.com Éric Grenier which diminish the support of smaller parties by 400% or more. This reverse bandwagon effect is extremely detrimental.

The Ontario Liberals, NDP and PC Party have worked together to pass legislation to basically prevent all others except themselves and the Green Party from obtaining public subsidies or from being elected at all, by working with the news media, social media and third parties such as foundations and special interest groups to suppress new parties and independent candidates in debates on both public and private property, in political polls and in most campaign news coverage.

According to several election studies in Canada and the US including PEW Research, and in Canada’s Lortie Royal Commission on Campaign Finance, the $millions worth of free publicity provided to the major parties by media is many times greater than the maximum campaign spending limits for all political parties and candidates combined.

Allen Small, Leader of the Ontario Libertarian Party says, "We strongly support the idea of 'un-rigging' of our election laws and we are looking at participating in this Charter Challenge." The Libertarian’s nominated candidates in 74 of the 107 ridings in 2014 and have already nominated well over 100 on the way to 124 for 2018.

Dan King, a spokesperson for the Party for People with Special Needs (Ontario) says “The almost total ban against campaigning in seniors, student, and special needs residences prevents us from even connecting with our base.”

Yuri Duboisky, Leader of the Ontario Moderate Party says, “Voters in Ontario have fewer rights to see or hear the policies of smaller and independent candidates than in most countries in the world today. The UK and all four countries in it, Germany, Japan, the Isle of Man and even Iran allow smaller party leaders and candidate on debates, but not here.”

Bahman Yazdanfar, Leader of the Canadians Choice Party (Ontario), says, “What kind of a Democracy is it where elections are being rigged by the media, pollsters and major parties to keep voters from even knowing that there are 21 registered parties running candidates during elections until they enter the voting booth?”
Jason Tysick, Leader of the newly registered Alliance Party of Ontario says, “We are big believers in the ‘3Rs of Direct Democracy: Referendum, Recall and Responsible government’ and we support any efforts to bring real democracy to elections in Ontario and Canada.”

The Green Party of Ontario has not replied to requests to participate in these proceedings, although the Greens did previously work with Vezina and several smaller parties in the 1990s to bring legal challenges against the former Ontario Commission on Elections Finances, which was totally disbanded by then Premier Mike Harris in 1998.

The 13 election laws or regulations being challenged:

- Declining ballots causing loss of secret ballot
- Minimum vote levels for campaign subsidies
- Minimum subsidy for compliance costs similar to auditors' fees
- All leaders and candidates must be accommodated in debates even if it requires more than one
- Polls should include all relevant parties and candidates to prevent proven inaccuracy
- "Bona Fide" news exemption needs clarifications to prevent $multi-million illegal campaign contributions
- exclusion of leaders, candidates and party officials from fundraisers
- 2 new Northern ridings population too small, outside +/- 25% formula set by Supreme Court
- End party leader control and manipulation of nominations and return it to local party members and supporters
- Restrictions on signs during new six month period of limits on advertising before election
- Chief Electoral Officer use of Extraordinary Powers and Consent for Prosecutions unfair
- Human Rights Code excludes political beliefs
- Prohibitions against canvassing in seniors buildings and student residences

The NOTA Party will be accepting political contributions on the nota.ca website to help fund legal and other costs from Ontario residents who receive generous refundable tax credits for 75% on the first $399 and reduced amounts thereafter.

According to NOTA Party leader Greg Vezina, “Our elections are run like a horse race where the win, place and show horses are in the winner’s circle celebrating before the gates for the other horses even open, democracy eh?”

Contact:

Greg Vezina, Leader,
None of the Above Direct Democracy Party (Ontario)
Aucune de ces Réponses Démocratie Directe Parti
Phone: (905) 501-0010
Email: info@nota.ca
Web: https://nota.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoneOfTheAboveX
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoneOfTheAboveX

NOTA Party logo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/None_of_the_Above_Party#/media/File:2017_None_of_the_Above_Party_16_x_24_sign_artwork.jpg

VIDEO: CTV Power Play: Don Martin with Greg Vezina, None of the Above Party (at 3:15 Don Martin predicts a future NOTA Party election landslide.) https://youtu.be/nUkusscJm1c

Greg Vezina
None of the Above Direct Democracy Party (Ontario)
905 501-0010 Or 905 501-8543
email us here

CTV Power Play: Don Martin with Greg Vezina, Leader, None of the Above Party (at 3:15 Don Martin predicts a future NOTA Party election landslide.)

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