Here's the latest update on the Charter Challenge for Fair Voting. 

In our last update to you we shared: 
- that we'd raised just under $43,000 to support the Charter Challenge for Fair Voting 
- that we would share another update once once we'd retained legal counsel for the case 

Here's where things are at now: 

There are a few key decisions that need to be made about the case before counsel is officially retained, but here is what we can share now: Antony Hodgson (from Fair Voting BC) and myself have been working closely with a pair of lawyers who are excited and passionate about taking the case. We're holding off on officially retaining them as we sort out two important decisions related to the case: 
- what province the case will be filed in, and
- who the applicant(s) for the case will be. 

Both of these questions are related and the decisions will affect the nature of our retainer agreement with legal counsel. 

Where to file: Any Charter Challenge must begin by first filing a claim in a provincial court. We intend to challenge the unfair nature of the federal first-past-the-post voting system, but in order to do so a claim must be filed in a provincial court. The claim will be against the Government of Canada, likely represented by the Attorney General, and an initial decision will be made in the provincial court where the case is filed. 

The provincial court will make a decision on this claim. If the decision is in our favour, we expect the Government lawyers to appeal, which will be heard in another provincial court. If the decision is not in our favour, our lawyers will appeal. Another decision will be reached, and at that point final appeal will go to the Supreme Court (should they choose to grant it leave). 

Each province has its own court system, and it's own processes associated with it. The costs associated with filing in one province versus another can vary wildly, so choosing the right province is critical to containing the costs to our budget. 

The Applicant(s): A claim must be made by one or more applicants. In our case, the applicant(s) will be non-profit organizations. Each applicant must also have standing to file such a case. To have standing, the applicant must be have operations, or services in the province the case will be filed in. And in the case of our Charter Challenge, they must also have a demonstrable history and interest in the case being filed. In addition to this, the organization must also be comfortable with the risks associated with being a named applicant on the case (namely, being assigned costs by the court). 

The balancing act: Before moving ahead with the case, we want to ensure that we're doing so under the optimal conditions. To ensure the case is set up for success, we want to ensure we've selected the right province, and the right applicant(s), and that all organizations involved are prepared for what follows. 

As anyone who has embarked on multi-organization partnerships in the past knows, it's important to resolve key responsibilities and details upfront, rather than rushing ahead without clear expectations. 

The work continues: Whichever applicant(s) and province we choose to move the case forward, the line of argumentation behind the case remains the same: each Canadian's right to effective representation is violated by the first-past-the-post voting system. The work involved in preparing the legal arguments supporting this claim continues we strike the right balance of 'who' and 'where' before we officially retain counsel. 

Follow along: To continue building awareness about the case, and to keep those interested in following along more closely in the loop, we'll be sharing our progress and findings on this blog. Throughout September we will be sharing regular blog updates. These will include posts that shine a light on some of the reference-cases ours is based on, some of the leading thinking by scholars studying constitutional law and electoral reform, and other posts sparked by the work we're doing on the Charter Challenge for Fair Voting.