The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Marc Mayrand, announced today that the registered parties' fourth quarter financial returns for 2009 are now available on the Elections Canada Web site.

The chief agent of a registered party that is entitled to a quarterly allowance must submit a quarterly return on the party's contributions and transfers to the Chief Electoral Officer within 30 days of the end of the quarter.

Read full article: 'Registered Political Parties' Fourth Quarter Financial Returns for 2009 Now On-line'

Registered political party fourth quarter allowances for the 2009 fiscal year have been paid. These allowances are based on the results of the 40th general election of October 14, 2008.

Registered political parties that meet voting thresholds in a general election are eligible to receive quarterly allowances. The current annual allowance, adjusted for inflation, is $1.999 per valid vote ($1.75 x 1.142). This annual allowance is paid in quarterly installments.


Read full article: 'Registered Political Parties Receive Fourth Quarter Allowances'

The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Marc Mayrand, would like to remind Canadians about the rules on political contributions.

* Only individuals who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada can make contributions to registered political parties, candidates, nomination contestants, registered electoral district associations or leadership contestants.
* Corporations, trade unions and unincorporated associations cannot make political contributions.
* Cash donations of more than $20 are prohibited.
* Contribution rules apply to both monetary contributions and non-monetary contributions (donations of goods or services).

Read full article: 'Chief Electoral Officer Issues Reminder on Political Contribution Limits'

Elections Canada has mailed 23,455,000 personalized voter information cards to electors who are on the lists of electors.

Electors who do not receive their voter information card by Wednesday, September 24, 2008, or who receive a card with incorrect information, should contact their local Elections Canada office no later than 6:00 p.m. (local time) on Tuesday, October 7, 2008.

Electors who receive a card for a deceased person or someone unknown at that address should also contact their local Elections Canada office.

Read full article: 'Voter Information Cards Are in the Mail'

Legislation change means Canadians need to present identification at the polls


* A federal election will be held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008.
* All electors must meet new voter identification requirements when they vote in the federal election on Tuesday.
* Electors may choose any of three options to prove their identity and address.
* Some identification documents used at provincial and municipal elections may not meet federal election requirements.

Read full article: 'Electors Must Prove Their Identity and Address When They Vote'

The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Marc Mayrand, has today made public the decisions made to date under the Canada Elections Act in regard to the authorization to make late payments on claims and loans of contestants for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada in 2006.

All documents related to the Chief Electoral Officer’s decisions are public and are now available by contacting Elections Canada.

Read full article: 'Status of Decisions on Liberal Leadership Contestants’ Claims and Loans'

The writs of by-election were issued today by Elections Canada for the federal by-elections to be held on September 8, 2008, in the electoral districts of Guelph (Ontario), Saint-Lambert (Quebec) and Westmount Ville-Marie (Quebec) to fill vacancies in the House of Commons.

All Canadian citizens in Guelph, Saint-Lambert and Westmount Ville-Marie who are at least 18 years of age on election day are eligible to vote. To vote in a federal by-election, an elector's address of ordinary residence must be in the electoral district from the first day of revision of the lists of electors, August 6, 2008, until election day, September 8, 2008.

Read full article: 'Elections Canada issues writs of by-election for Guelph, Saint-Lambert and Westmount Ville-Marie'

The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Marc Mayrand, announced that the payment of the allowances that qualified registered parties are entitled to receive for the second quarter has been made.

A registered party that obtained at least 2 percent of all valid votes cast at a general election or at least 5 percent of the valid votes cast in the electoral districts in which it ran a candidate in a general election is eligible for a quarterly allowance, according to subsection 435.01(1) of the Canada Elections Act.

Each registered party eligible for the allowance will receive a quarterly payment equivalent to $0.4375 per valid vote that it obtained in the most recent general election preceding the quarter for which the payment is being made, according to subsection 435.01(2) of the Act.

Read full article: 'Chief Electoral Officer of Canada Announces Second Quarter Allowances Paid to Registered Political Parties'

The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Marc Mayrand, announced today that registered party financial transactions returns for 2007 have been filed with Elections Canada, as required by subsection 424(4) of the Canada Elections Act.

The deadline for filing these returns was midnight, June 30, 2008. In certain circumstances, the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada may grant an extension if an application is made before the statutory deadline, in accordance with paragraphs 433(1)(a) and 433(2)(a) of the Act.

As of midnight, June 30, the Canadian Action Party, Libertarian Party of Canada and the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada have applied for and been granted an extension until July 31, 2008. The First Peoples National Party of Canada has applied for and been granted an extension until September 30, 2008.

Read full article: 'Registered Political Parties Submit 2007 Fiscal Returns'

The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Marc Mayrand, announced today that the official poll-by-poll voting results for the federal by-elections held in Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River (Saskatchewan), Toronto Centre (Ontario), Vancouver Quadra (British Columbia) and Willowdale (Ontario) on Monday, March 17, 2008, are now available on-line.

This report, titled By-elections March 17, 2008: Official Voting Results: Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River, Toronto Centre, Vancouver Quadra and Willowdale, is available at www.elections.ca.

Read full article: 'Official Poll-by-Poll Voting Results for March 17, 2008, Federal By-elections Now Available On-line'

Aboriginal people in Canada are one step closer to full access to Canada's human rights system, according to the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC).

The Commission was commenting on the passage of Bill C-21 in the House of Commons.

"This is a milestone piece of legislation," said CHRC Chief Commissioner Jennifer Lynch, Q.C., "How appropriate that this historic step forward by Parliament is being taken now, as today is the National Day of Action."

Read full article: 'Canadian Human Rights Commission Applauds Passage of C-21 Through Commons'

The Atlantica Party today released an update to the party's policy platform calling for a debate on uniting the four Atlantic Canadian provinces into a single province in Canada.

"It has been almost forty years since Union has been discussed and we think it is time to re-examine the issue," said Jonathan Dean, leader of the party. "Union is a tangible step forward strengthening Atlantic Canada's present and future. Union allows Atlantic Canadians to solve regional problems with regional solutions."

In addition to advancing the Union debate the Atlantica Party will also reform the provincial political system by re-establishing the independence of the Legislature. This sharing of powers between the citizen's representatives in the Legislature and the Executive will encourage freer debate, better decision making, and establish stricter public oversight of government operations. The Atlantica Party will also institute several direct democracy tools for use by citizens, including Citizen's Initiative and Recall.

Read full article: 'The Atlantica Party Supports Debate On Uniting The Atlantic Provinces'

By Roy Whyte

When examining the historical image of the First Nations people and how it has been constructed over time it is useful to think about many mitigating factors. The image that has been constructed of the First Nations people is one done so by leaving out the First Nations people's voice and relying instead on first the conquerors constructed image, and later other vested interests and their own interpretations of who and what the First Nations people are and what we should think of them. In Canada the historical image of the First Nations people has been one made by the victorious for their own benefit, and for the First Nations people themselves, one that has been very hard to change.

For the first Europeans arriving on the shores of what would become to be known as Canada, the culture shock of meeting people living as Europeans themselves would have many centuries earlier certainly played an early and integral part on how and why they shaped the image of the First Nations people as primitive and even backwards. Europe of the time was growing and becoming intertwined, cities were springing up and new technologies were springing anew. Centralized religion was firmly in grasp of not only people's daily lives but also to some extent the reigns of political power. People's lives were very structured and regimented with a clear hierarchy. When faced with a people who seemed to be the direct opposite of everything they had known and seen, it is easy to understand some of the reasoning behind the early images and ideas they would come to create of the First Nations people.

First contact impressions aside, the Europeans did not come to study and greet these new people, they came to claim their lands, and it could be said, their lives. Using the ideas and methods honed over many centuries of conquest of not only their European rivals but that of the African and Asian peoples, the first Europeans to Canada practiced policy that was firmly in place and truly a club which allowed them full dominance. Mixing religion, perceived cultural superiority, trading aspects and sheer military might, the European settlers would help forge an image of the First Nations people that in many regards stands till this day.

Read full article: 'Construction of an Image - Canada's First Nations'

The McGuinty government has given Ontarians a more meaningful voice in shaping their democracy than ever before, the Minister Responsible for Democratic Renewal, Marie Bountrogianni, announced today as she accepted the final report of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform.

"This report marks the success of the most ambitious and far-reaching democratic renewal initiative in Ontario's history," said Bountrogianni. "I look forward to reviewing the Citizens' Assembly's report and recommendation."

The Citizens' Assembly's process, initiated in September 2006, brought together a random cross-section of Ontarians to assess the current electoral system and others, and recommend whether Ontario should keep the current system or adopt a new one.

The assembly included 103 members, one from each of Ontario's ridings, under the leadership of George Thomson. There were 52 female and 51 male members of the assembly. One member was Aboriginal. Members of the Citizens' Assembly learned from a range of experts about different electoral systems and led 41 meetings across the province. The submission of the final report concludes the Citizens' Assembly process.

Read full article: 'Ontario Citizens' Assembly Final Report On Electoral Reform'

Reasonable accommodations, intercultural relations, religion's place in public life, the future of French language, the school's cultural role, the divisions between Quebec's regions... these are only a few examples of the themes that will be debated in an unprecedented forum on Quebec culture starting today in nine cities throughout Quebec. The forum is INM's Strategic Rendez-Vous on Culture.

This event, organized by the Institut du Nouveau Monde, will gather citizens, experts and practitioners in the cultural field. Its objective is to debate cultural issues that are crucial to Quebec and suggest approaches to public decision-makers and stakeholders from the sectors in question.

February 2nd and 3rd will see hundreds of Quebecers debate the future of their culture at the first regional meeting whose theme is Quebec culture: a common culture or a mosaic of identities? This first meeting, held simultaneously in all Quebec regions, will be followed by a second meeting on March 16 and 17 with the theme Quebec culture in times of Internet and the planet. Lastly, the national meeting will take place in Montreal on April 27 and 28 and the theme will be The future of Quebec culture: what are our collective dreams?

Read full article: 'Forum On Quebec Culture Starts Today Throughout Quebec'