Team

Partner Organizations

The Charter Challenge project was initiated by Fair Voting BC in early 2017. Fair Voting BC is a non-partisan non-profit society that works for fair voting systems for all elections held in British Columbia - including federal, provincial, and municipal elections. In the 2009 referendum on electoral reform in BC, Fair Voting BC (FVBC) served as the official proponent of the BC’s Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform’s recommendation that BC adopt the Single Transferable Vote (BC-STV) electoral system. The project-lead from FVBC is Dr. Antony Hodgson, president of the FVBC board. 

In May of 2017, Springtide accepted an invitation from Fair Voting BC to partner on this project, to provide operational leadership, oversight and support for the Challenge. Springtide is a Nova Scotia-based charity dedicated to non-partisan research, teaching and public engagement about democracy and politics in Canada. Springtide has published two papers on electoral reform - modelling four alternative electoral systems for Canada and Nova Scotia - and conducted public engagement and education workshops on electoral reform throughout Nova Scotia. The project-leads from Springtide are Jesse Hitchcock and Matt Risser. 

Advisory Board

The following individuals served on the advisory board for the Charter Challenge during initial stages of the project. 

  • Dr. J. Patrick Boyer, QC - Lawyer, professor, writer, former Progressive Conservative MP, expert on Electoral Law in Canada, ON
  • Annette Demers - Associate Dean, Law Library and Legal Research Services, University of Windsor, ON
  • Caitlin Urquhart - Associate Lawyer at Smyth Woodland Del Rizzo & Barrett, St. John's, NL
  • Dr. Fred Cutler - Political Scientist, University of British Columbia, BC
  • Réal Lavergne - Former President, Fair Vote Canada, ON
  • Matt Risser - Co-author of Springtide's discussion papers Better Choices: Voting System Alternative for Nova Scotia and Canada, NS

 


Like and Follow

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Current Status:

- Court date is confirmed! The case will be heard September 25 - 27, 2023.

- The case was filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on October 2019.

- Served government with affidavit and evidence package in May 2021.

- Government affidavits received in late Fall 2022.
 

How you can help

The main way you can help is to support the case financially. We need to raise another $25,000 to cover the costs of presenting our case in court. You can support the case for as little as a dollar a month.

What to expect

- Fall 2022 - Once evidence and a response from the government is received, Charter Challenge lawyer, Nicolas Rouleau will start preparing for cross-examination and response affidavits.

- Spring 2023 - Once we have received the government’s evidence and replied to it, Charter Challenge lawyer, Nicolas Rouleau, will draft the factum

- At each step, we set a goal based on our estimate of the costs, and ask supporters to contribute to help us reach that goal, and to ensure the case can continue to move forward.