OTTAWA - Today, in the East Courtroom of the Supreme Court of Canada building in Ottawa, a Federal Court Judge is hearing Democracy Watch's application challenging the legality of Conservative Minister Stephen Harper's September 2008 federal election call (ironically, exactly one year after the last election campaign began).

Democracy Watch applied to Federal Court on September 22, 2008 for an order that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's advice to the Governor General of Canada on September 7, 2008 to dissolve Parliament and call an election violated the fixed election date measures that Bill C-16 added to the Canada Elections Act because the Conservative government had not lost a vote of confidence in the House of Commons.

"Overwhelming evidence shows that the intent and effect of the fixed election date measures prohibits the Prime Minister from calling an election before his governing party has lost a confidence vote in the House of Commons, something that did not occur before Prime Minister Harper called the snap federal election in September 2008," said Duff Conacher, Coordinator of Democracy Watch. "As well, the clear intent of the fixed election date measures is to make elections fair for all political parties, interest groups and citizens wanting to participate in the election by letting everyone know well in advance when it will happen, something that also did not occur when Prime Minister Harper suddenly called the federal election in September 2008."

"If Democracy Watch wins, the Federal Court will rule that Prime Minister Harper is a dishonest lawbreaker because he gave false reasons for calling the snap federal election last September in violation of his own fixed-election-date law. If Democracy Watch loses, the court will rule that Prime Minister Harper is a dishonest promise-breaker because he failed to keep his 2006 election promise to pass a law fixing election dates," said Conacher.

The case will also determine the effect and enforceability of similar fixed-election-date laws in British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories and proposed laws in other provinces and parliamentary democracies around the world.

On October 3, 2008, Federal Court Prothonotary R. Aronovitch ruled that there was not enough time left before the election day last October 14th to have the application fully considered by the Federal Court, and so the case was put on the regular Federal Court schedule. A full consideration of Democracy Watch's application is needed, the ruling stated, because "the application raises important issues." (To see the ruling on the motion, click here)

Democracy Watch filed the case not only to challenge Prime Minister Harper's calling of the election in September 2008, but also to win a ruling that will prohibit future election calls by prime ministers before a vote of non-confidence in the House of Commons has occurred.