TORONTO – As Canadians heads to the election polls on Monday, RTNDA Canada – The Association of Electronic Journalists and RTDNA – The Radio Television Digital News Association say that they “vehemently oppose” a law that prohibits the transmission of election results to the public in a district where polling stations are still open.
Section 329 of the Canada Elections Act was initially intended to curb national media outlets from "prematurely transmitting" electoral results across time zones, theoretically preventing election results in eastern Canada from influencing voters in the west. But according to RTNDA and RTDNA, if a media organization or individual tweets about or Facebook comments about Canada’s election results prematurely, a law has been broken with the offender subject to a maximum fine of $25,000, or up to five years in prison.
"Social media is emerging as a critical tool spawning new hopes for democracy in northern Africa and the Middle East. We should not see it going the other way in Canada," said RTNDA Canada president Andy LeBlanc, in a statement. "The Canadian news media has long been prevented from broadcasting election results to places where the ballots are still open. That didn’t stop people from calling friends and relatives on the other side of the country to discuss ongoing election results. Millions of Canadians using Twitter and Facebook should not risk persecution for participating in an unfolding democratic process, the kind of political engagement people in other parts of the world are dying to achieve."
RTDNA chairman Mark Kraham called the law “archaic and condescending to voters” and recommended that it be revised as soon as possible.
"RTDNA strongly advocates ethical and responsible elections reporting," Kraham said. "Information about election results should be delivered after a strong confirmation process ensuring that voters are given accurate information."
In a report by the Montreal Gazette, John Enright, who speaks for Elections Canada, said his agency has no choice but to administer the law as written. Citizens are allowed to phone or text friends, or send private e-mails, but posting to a Facebook wall, to a webpage or to Twitter will be considered a violation.
"The legislation is still on the books, so our role as Elections Canada is to administer the legislation that is before us," Enright said in the Montreal Gazette report. "If there’s a breach of the law, Elections Canada is not going to discriminate between the Mothercorp and Joe Smith down the street."
