GATINEAU, QC, July 31,
2024 /CNW/ - On August 1,
2024, the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections
(OCCE) will celebrate 50 years of service to Canadians.
In recognition of this anniversary, the Commissioner of Canada
Elections issued the following statement:
"As we approach our 50th anniversary, I would
like to thank the dedicated individuals, past and present, who have
contributed to the work of the office.
Over the past five decades and through 14
federal general elections, seven Commissioners have played a role
in safeguarding Canada's electoral
system and it is a mandate that is just as important today as it
was in 1974.
I am proud to lead the OCCE as it enters this
next chapter and I want to use the occasion of our anniversary to
reaffirm our commitment to enforce the Canada Elections Act
diligently, independently, impartially and fairly.
Protecting the integrity of our electoral
system, and the trust Canadians place in it, is – and will always
be – at the heart of our compliance and enforcement work. As we
look towards the next 50 years, our objective is clear: we must
continue to deliver on our important mandate while evolving to meet
the new and as yet undiscovered threats to Canadian federal
elections. It is what Canadians can, and should, expect of us, and
something we are all committed to achieving."
Caroline J.
Simard, Commissioner of Canada Elections
Background
The Law that Inspired a New Role
Born out of a concern for rapidly increasing campaign expenses,
the Election Expenses Act (Bill C-203) received royal assent
on January 14, 1974. This bill
reduced the threat to campaign equity in Canada by amending the Canada Elections
Act to include expenditure limits on candidate and party
campaigns.
Upon recommendation from Jean-Marc
Hamel, the Chief Electoral Officer at the time, a high-level
position was created that was responsible for the enforcement of
the new Election Expenses Act. The role was intended to be
supported by a limited number of personnel called to work during,
and shortly after, each federal election. The appointment of the
first Commissioner of Election Expenses, John P. Dewis, took effect on August 1, 1974.
The OCCE's Evolution Throughout the Years
In the years that followed, the mandate of the Commissioner of
Election Expenses was expanded and by 1977, had grown to include
all provisions of the Canada Elections Act (CEA). At that
time, the position was renamed Commissioner of Canada Elections.
The Commissioner's role was expanded once again in 1992 to include
oversight of the Referendum Act.
Independence
Prior to the 1993 general federal election,
CEA investigations were carried out by the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police. However, during that period, there was a shift
towards hiring independent contractors and in-house investigators.
This change reflected the need for greater independence, control
over the investigative process, and in-depth knowledge of the
Canada Elections Act. In 2014, a series of legislative
amendments to the CEA were introduced. Among them was an
express provision that the Commissioner's investigations be carried
out independently. This important change has been maintained
through the years and as the CEA has evolved. The 2014 amendments
also granted the Commissioner the status of deputy head for the
purposes of hiring their own staff and managing their office's
human resources.
New Powers
In 2019, the CEA's compliance and enforcement toolkit was
expanded to include administrative monetary penalties (AMPs). The
ability to issue AMPs, which are designed to promote and ensure
compliance, not to punish, provided the Commissioner with an
important alternative to prosecutions. Since the first AMP was
issued in 2021, more than 204 AMPs have been published on the
Commissioner of Canada Elections website.
With expanded responsibilities and a rapidly changing electoral
landscape, the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections has
grown, from a handful of staff in 1974, to a team made up of about
70 full-time employees. These individuals work year-round to
respond to the thousands of complaints from the public and
referrals from Elections Canada, that form the basis of the
Commissioner's core business.
More information about the anniversary is available on our
website at: CCE's 50th Anniversary | Commissioner of Canada
Elections (cef-cce.ca).
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SOURCE Commissioner of Canada Elections