The Supreme Court of Canada, the final court of appeal in the country, has struck down provisions of an Ontario law limiting third-party election advertising spending for an entire year preceding elections as unconstitutional.
Today’s decision marks yet another entry on Ford’s shameful ledger of privileging his political agenda over working peoples’ interests – this time, at the expense of Ontarians’ Charter rights.
The Working Families Coalition and Ontario unions fought against Bill 307 since it was first introduced by the Ford government in 2021, seeing it for the campaign to silence opposition it was always intended it to be.
The right to meaningfully participate in the electoral process and an informed vote includes hearing from a diversity of perspectives and interpretations during the election writ period. This includes integral third parties, such as labour unions and civic organizations, that can speak across party lines and with unique insight to the real issues affecting everyday Ontarians.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice had previously struck down Ford’s third-party speech restrictions on the basis that they unconstitutionally violated freedom of expression under Section 2 of the Charter. The Ford government later reintroduced the legislation as Bill 307, invoking the notwithstanding clause to circumvent Ontarians’ rights and override the bill’s unconstitutional provisions.
“Working people took Ford to court and won – again. Ford’s unconstitutional Bill 307 was always an attempt to shield his government from being held accountable for the myriad of ways they’ve failed the people of Ontario,” said JP Hornick, President of OPSEU/SEFPO. “This decision sends an important reminder that no government is above the Charter, or the law, something you’d expect a Premier facing RCMP criminal investigation to have no trouble remembering.”
“Democracy is something we have to make and remake every day, especially when it is increasingly under threat from politicians willfully abusing their power to run interference,” added Hornick. “This was a victory for our democratic rights, but it’s not the last time we’ll need to fight. When that time comes, we’ll be ready.”