Factual assertions now called partisan
During an election campaign, election advertising, which is specifically excluded from “partisan activities,” is one of the types of political activity that charities and other third parties are permitted to do. This includes ads that take a position on an issue with which a registered party or candidate is associated.
If the charity spends more than $500, it must register and report to Elections Canada about its paid “election advertising.” The cost and administrative burden of this registration and record-keeping discourages some charities, but there is a legitimate public purpose for it.
What’s new and dangerous is this: because Maxime Bernier and members of his People’s Party of Canada are climate deniers, Elections Canada now insists that factual assertions about climate science and policy are “partisan.”
If we get a Flat Earth party, will gravity and the shape of the world become “partisan?” Would an anti-vaxxer party make medical science “partisan?”
Source: The Tyee Aug 20/19
