Law Times

PAGE 2 NEWS May 2, 2011 • Law TiMes shield their eyes while the elec- tion results roll in tonight. Twitter a conundrum for enforcing elections act E BY OLIVIA D'ORAZIO For Law Times asterners may be button- ing their virtual lips as people on the West Coast Despite efforts to stop broadcasting of early election results, there may be some sen- sitive material coming to Brit- ish Columbians from other provinces as the voting tallies emerge from 32 ridings whose polls close first. As s. 329 of the Canada Elections Act states, "No person shall transmit the result or pur- ported result of the vote in an electoral district to the public in another electoral district before the close of all of the polling stations in that other electoral district." Despite the maximum $25,000 fine that breaking the law carries, several virtually un- identifiable people on the In- ternet are planning a "tweet-in" to protest the 73-year-old law. As a result, they're going to tell westerners who's leading in the polls out East. The protest comes despite CANADIAN LAW LIST 2011 YOUR INSTANT CONNECTION TO CANADA'S LEGAL NETWORK Inside you will find: an up-to-date alphabetical listing • • • of more than 58,000 barristers, solicitors and Quebec notaries, corporate counsel, law firms and judges in Canada; contact information for the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, Federal Cabinet Ministers, departments, boards, commissions and Crown corporations; legal and government contact information related to each province for the Courts of Appeal, Supreme Courts, County and District Courts, Provincial Courts, law societies, law schools, Legal Aid, and other law- related offices of importance. MORE THAN A PHONE BOOK Hardbound • Published February each year On subscription $146 • P/C 0600140999 One-time purchase $162 • P/C 0600010999 • ISSN 0084-8573 Prices subject to change without notice,to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. Visit canadalawbook.ca or call 1.800.565.6967 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation reforms to close the gap across Canada's time zones. "Parlia- ment has introduced staggered voting hours to mitigate the time difference, [but] there is still a 1 1/2-hour lag from the last ballot cast in Newfoundland and the last ballot cast in British Columbia," says John Enright of Elections Canada. "It takes 30 minutes to an hour to count a poll. The true lag is closer to 30 to 45 minutes." During the feder- al election in 2000, Paul Bryan publicly announced that he'd break the law. He re- ceived a $1,000 fine after posting the re- sults on his web site. He fought the issue up to the Supreme Court of Canada, claiming that the act infringed upon his right to free expression. But the top court upheld the act in a 5-4 vote. The online community is up in CANADA LAW BOOK® arms over losing the right to tweet during those 45 minutes. Blogger and political commentator Ste- phen Taylor, for example, agrees with the four dissenting justices. CLL - 1-4 page - 3X.indd 1 2/17/11 4:35:34 PM The temptation for people to infringe the law may be greater and the potential for people infringing the law accidentally may be greater. But I don't think it changes the constitutional analysis. individual In his view, authorities should consider reforms to acknowledge the role that social media plays today. Elections Canada doesn't "recognize the modern reality of social medias," he says. "Laws are supposed to reflect reality, not shape new ones." Social media, especially Twit- ter, has received a lot of airtime during this election. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, for example, challenged Conserva- tive rival Stephen Harper to a one-on-one debate on Twitter. Harper countered him in a tweet. The prospect of tweets quickly going viral makes Twitter the perfect realm to vio- late s. 329. In the meantime, Enright notes Elections Can- ada works on a com- plaint basis and won't be monitoring Twit- ter, Facebook or any other social media network. Neverthe- less, anyone caught in violation of the act shouldn't look to Bryan's case. "A tweeter seeking legal advice before posting election results would probably be told that he or she can't rely on the Charter given the decision," says Toronto law- yer Ranjan Agarwal. At the same time, lawyer LIQUOR AND HOST LIABILITY LAW IN CANADA Lorne Folick, Michael Libby and Paul Dawson UNDERSTAND THE RISKS AND DUTIES ARISING FROM THE SALE OR SERVICE OF ALCOHOL This is the first resource to address all aspects of liquor liability in commercial, employment and social host settings. It includes analysis and discussion of all the leading cases and key legislation from across the country. Topics include: duties related to the condition of licensed premises and to activities on the premises • • • • • • • Hardbound • 262 pp. November 2010 • $95 P/C 1001010000 ISBN 978-0-88804-515-7 Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. the obligations of commercial hosts to take reasonable steps to ensure that patrons are not injured by other patrons whether a commercial host may be responsible for the conduct of patrons who have left the premises conduct of employees and the use of excessive force social host liability at private functions the risks facing employers who provide alcohol to employees criminal, regulatory and administrative matters ... and more! An invaluable resource Lawyers in private practice (both plaintiff and defence) and in-house counsel will find the summary of key defences particularly useful and will greatly benefit from this thorough review of the law. Visit canadalawbook.ca or call 1.800.565.6967 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation Andrew Bernstein says that despite the evolution of tech- nology, the Supreme Court is unlikely to change its decision. "The temptation for people to infringe the law may be greater and the potential for people infringing the law accidentally may be greater," he says. "But I don't think it changes the constitutional analysis. The Su- preme Court found this to be a reasonable limit on the right to free expression." The law originally aimed at preventing radio stations from broadcasting results across the country. Aaron Kreider of ac- tivismnetwork.org has casually mentioned during past elections that shortwave radio frequen- cies that ostensibly broadcast in a local area and therefore can release election results where the polls have closed are capable of travelling thousands of kilo- metres. AM radio stations from Newfoundland, for example, can reach as far away as Europe. "So long as you have the results being released, you won't be able to stop them from being shared," he says. But before you log on to Twit- CANADA LAW BOOK® LT0214 www.lawtimesnews.com ter or Facebook tonight after you cast your vote, you may want to pause for a moment. "We're try- ing to inform people that it's still on the books and to keep it in mind," Enright says of s. 329. "It was held up by the court and it's in the Canada Elections Act, so we have to uphold it. If it is to be changed, that is the role of Parliament." Digital LT.indd 2 4/29/11 11:28:43 AM

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