Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Prof. Yasmin Dawood has co-authored, with several other academics from across Canada, an open letter to the Government of Canada about the Fair Elections Act that calls on the government to withdraw the bill. This open letter follows an earlier one co-authored by Prof. Dawood that expressed concerns about the Act and was signed by 160 professors from across Canada in various relevant disciplines. The second letter has been signed by an even larger number of professors.

The letter notes that, while a Senate committee has recommended several changes to the bill, "Unfortunately, their proposals cannot salvage an irremediably flawed bill."

Signatories of the letter include U of T Faculty of Law professors Alan Brudner, Audrey Macklin, Jennifer Nedelsky, Kent Roach, David Schneiderman, Martha Shaffer, and Lorraine Weinrib.

Read the open letter on The Globe and Mail website or the Huffington Post website.

Read an article about the open letter on The Globe and Mail website.

Watch an interview with Prof. Dawood on GlobeNow video.

Prof. Dawood took part in a panel discussion about the Fair Elections act on TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin. The podcast is available on the TVO website.

After Minister for Democratic Reform Pierre Poilievre  introduced amendements to the Fair Elections Act on Friday, April 25, the co-authors of the open letter published a commentary in The Globe and Mail on Monday, April 28, "Five changes Poilievre missed on Fair Elections Act," noting the specific concerns that are not addressed by the amendments.