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From CBC.com
" A bill before the B.C. legislature that would place major limits on third-party advertising during provincial election campaigns has drawn fire from the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
"This attempt to manipulate and control what people hear in the four months leading up to an election is patently offensive to democratic principles," association president Rob Holmes says in a news release published on the group's website on Wednesday.
Under provisions of Bill 42, groups other than political parties would be restricted to spending $3,000 per electoral district and $150,000 overall in the four months leading up to an election and during the election campaign itself.
There are currently no legal restrictions on the amount third parties can spend on advertising to promote a particular issue, candidate or party, the release notes.
"While banning advertising by concerned citizens and groups," Holmes said, "the government gives itself free rein to fill the airwaves and newspapers with 'feel-good' advertising promoting itself at public expense and promote itself further with taxpayer subsidized political contributions."
Given the cost of advertising in major radio, television and print media, the release says, the bill would prevent groups such as the B.C. Teachers Federation, which spent $1.55 million on ads before and during the last provincial election, from mounting effective campaigns.
The government, on the other hand, would be allowed to spend more than $12 million thanks to its status as a registered political party, the release says. "
It seems as though Campbell and the Liberals are really tilting things in their favor for the 2009 election. It's well within their rights, and I like limits on spending, such as these, but they come at a time when the NDP benefits most and the Liberals are damaged most by these types of groups.
There is the same debate going on in the US as to what 3rd party, 'non-affiliated' groups can spend, with restrictions on how long they must be in existence to be considered legit. MoveOn.org and Freedom's Watch are the biggest.
I think limits on spending by these groups would be the way to go, instead of an outright ban, as it does seem to limit the rights of those to publicize their views and who they are supporting. Everything must be reasonable in our society, and this bill is too extreme in it's changes to really be able to hold water.
It can and likely will pass the Provincial Legislature, as the Liberals hold a majority, but I can see this easily being struck down via a Constitutional challenge later on down the line. The game that must be played is if that challenge and eventual overturn can be accomplished before the election, as if it is not, the whole debate is pointless in the first place.
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