I hate to interrupt all the political attack ads and partisan sniping by discussing an actual issue.
But Canadians need to understand something about the ongoing federal election.
It isn’t truly free.
In fact, Canada has not had a truly free federal election for years.
What am I talking about?
Well, since the year 2000 we have had in place what I like to call an “election gag law”.
This gag law (its part of the Canada Elections Act) impose severe legal restrictions on how much money citizens or independent groups can spend on “political advertising” during federal elections.
And according to the law, “political advertising” includes any ads that support or oppose a political party or candidate or which simply take a stand on any issue that might be associated with any political party or candidate.
The gag law, in short, makes it virtually impossible for unions, environmental groups, church organizations, taxpayer advocates, or for any group or individual to effectively or freely express political opinions at election time -- the most crucial period of any democracy.
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