Vancouver Sun Editorial: New election gag law a pointless assault on our free speech

Vancouver Sun - Editorial
May 2, 2012



There are so many appropriate words to describe the provincial government’s decision to try once again to bring in an election gag law that will stand up in court, it’s hard to know where to start. But we will take a stab at it.


Obstinate, ill-advised, hypocritical, pointless, anti-democratic and short-sighted, to name just a few.


This is the second time the Liberals have tried to impose a gag law that covers the period before a campaign starts. Their earlier attempt was struck down by the courts, as was a previous version enacted by the NDP government in the 1990s. The last attempt failed in part because it could have limited the ability of third parties to comment on the legislature while it was sitting.


Now the government is trying again with amendments that aren’t even being given the profile of their own act, but are being slipped through as part of a housekeeping bill that deals with half a dozen other issues at the same time.


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