CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT CANADA'S NEW POLITICAL FINANCE REGIME

The Supreme Court of Canada has considered the constitutionality of some aspects of the political finance regime that has been in place since 1974. Recent political finance reforms raise new and challenging constitutional questions. This article examines whether the political finance reforms introduced in the 2003 Elections Act and 2006 Accountability Act-limits on political contributions by individuals and an outright prohibition on union and corporate political contributions-are contrary to Charter guarantees of freedom of expression and freedom of association. Parliament's conflict of interest in regulating the democratic process and the implications that this conflict has for Charteranalysis of the recent political finance reforms is highlighted.