Figueroa v. Canada
| Figueroa v Canada (AG) | |
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| Hearing: November 5, 2002 Judgment: June 27, 2003 |
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| Full case name | Miguel Figueroa v. Attorney General of Canada |
| Citations | [2003] 1 S.C.R. 912, 2003 SCC 37 |
| Ruling | Figueroa appeal allowed |
| Court Membership | |
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Chief Justice: Beverley McLachlin Puisne Justices: Charles Gonthier, Frank Iacobucci, John C. Major, Michel Bastarache, Ian Binnie, Louise Arbour, Louis LeBel, Marie Deschamps |
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| Reasons given | |
| Majority | Iacobucci J., joined by McLachlin C.J. and Major, Bastarache, Binnie and Arbour JJ. |
| Concurrence | LeBel J., joined by Gonthier and Deschamps JJ. |
Figueroa v Canada (AG), [2003] 1 S.C.R. 912 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the right to participate in a federal election under section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court struck down a provision requiring a political party to nominate 50 candidates before receiving certain benefits.
Miguel Figueroa, the leader of the Communist Party of Canada, challenged the constitutionality of section 24 and 28 of the Canada Elections Act providing for a 50 candidate threshold as a violation of Section Three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The court challenge originated after the 1993 general federal election, when the CPC failed to field at least 50 candidates. Under the then Canada Elections Act, which had been amended just prior to the 1993 vote by the former Conservative government of Brian Mulroney, a registered federal party which fails to run at least 50 candidates in a general election would not only be automatically de-registered, but would also be stripped of its net assets which would then be turned over to the Government of Canada.
Miguel Figueroa, acting on behalf of the Communist Party's membership, challenged these provisions in the Act, arguing that the 50-candidate rule, combined with the increase in candidate deposits - which for smaller parties would be only partially refundable - and the seizure of party assets, together constituted draconian and unfair discrimination against smaller political parties. In 1999, Justice Anne Molloy of the Superior Court of Ontario (General Division) struck down many of the Act's provisions as unconstitutional, including the seizure of party assets and the non-refundability of candidate deposits for those failing to garner at least 15% of the vote in an election. Justice Molloy also struck down the 50-candidate threshold requirement for federal parties to maintain their registration.
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