Elections Canada suggests political parties to list fundraising venue locations

The federal agency said parties are obligated under political financing law to publicly list the venue name, but added the government could opt to change the law.

Elections Canada has suggested that venue names should be listed for fundraising events after a political party asked whether it had to disclose the specific location in light of safety concerns.

The federal agency said parties are obligated under political financing law to publicly list the venue name, but added the government could opt to change the law.

The Liberal party has removed public venue locations from online notices of fundraising events attended by the prime minister after one of his events was cancelled in the spring due to aggressive protesters.

As iPolitics first reported, a draft interpretation note published by Elections Canada in November said that while the agency “shares the security concerns of registered parties, the legislation as debated and enacted suggests that the venue must be specified in a registered party’s website notices and reports on these events.”

“Parliament may wish to consider amending the legislation to address emerging security concerns in this area.”

Federal political parties and the commissioner of Canada elections, the independent officer responsible for ensuring compliance with the Canada Elections Act, have until Jan. 19 to provide comments on the note. A final version will then be published.

Liberal party spokesman Matteo Rossi said the party “fully complies with the Canada Elections Act and all Elections Canada regulations for fundraising,” adding it will review the draft note.

Elections Canada didn’t say which party made the initial inquiry, but in the spring the Liberal party informed the agency of a security issue linked to the public listing of a venue.