“It kind of tests your character. I learned from that adversity and the following election I won by 7,000 votes and the one after that I won by 50,000 votes,” said Mr. Bevilacqua.
Mr. Bevilacqua’s 1988 election win was declared null and void by the courts, but he went on to win a 1990 byelection by more than 7,000 votes and went on to have a 22-year career in the House of Commons.
Mr. Opitz is facing a potential byelection in Etobicoke Centre, Ont., after an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled May 18 that in the 2011 election, 79 voters in the riding were allowed to cast ballots while there were clerical errors in the backing paperwork to show that they were Canadian citizens. In some cases, the paperwork is missing outright.
The case was initiated by Mr. Opitz’s rival, Liberal Borys Wrzesnewskyj, who had previously represented the riding, but lost to Mr. Opitz by a margin of 26 votes in the last general election.
On July 10, the Supreme Court heard Mr. Opitz’s appeal in a packed courtroom, but has yet to rule.
The appeal focuses on whether the irregularities found in a sample of 10 polling stations in Etobicoke Centre constitute serious enough grounds to overturn the results of the election.
“It can’t be trivial errors,” that disqualify votes, argued Mr. Opitz’s lawyer, Kent Thomson.
Mr. Wrzesnewskyj’s lawyer, Gavin Tighe, argued that having the official documents to show that only those who were qualified to vote in the riding were allowed to do so is an important part of Canada’s electoral system.
“It’s the rules which give democracy integrity,” he said.
Until then, Mr. Bevilacqua said that the rookie MP has to focus on representing his more than 110,000 constituents above all else.
“You have to remain focused, and you have to make every day count. One thing you know for sure is that if you’re working hard and you’re getting things done for the constituents, that if and when the day comes when there is a byelection they will certainly notice the work you have done,” he said.
In Canada, election results have only been contested successfully six times since 1949. Mr. Wrzesnewskyj’s case is the most recent, and the last case was Mr. Bevilacqua’s. The former MP, who is now mayor of Vaughan, left federal politics in 2010.
Mr. Bevilacqua won the riding of York North in the 1988 general election by a margin of 77 votes. He served 18 months as a Member of Parliament before a court ruled that electoral laws had been misapplied called for a byelection. That vote happened in 1990, and he won by 7,000 votes.
The months he served in office before the byelection helped constituents get to know him, he said.
“They were able to get a sense of the individual, and the type of Member of Parliament that I was,” he explained.
Mr. Opitz has been serving as an MP since the election, and Mr. Bevilacqua said that he should continue to do so.
“I always assumed that I was a Member of Parliament until somebody told me otherwise. I my case, I made those 18 months count, and worked very hard, and also through that you demonstrate your willingness to represent people and to do the best job you can. In many ways you’re getting measured,” he explained.
Former Liberal MP Joe Jordan, who represented the riding of Leeds-Grenville, Ont., for seven years, and who won his riding in the 2000 election by a margin of 55 votes, said that Mr. Opitz is now in a tricky position with his constituents while he waits for the Supreme Court ruling.
“I can imagine people phoning up and saying, ‘Either get me this or we’re not going to vote for you.’ I suspect the stress is spread around his constituency staff,” he said.
He added that the uncertainty surrounding Mr. Opitz’s long-term job status is likely causing the MP a lot of stress.
“Unfortunately, this guy is now facing this prospect of, ‘I may not have a job next week,’ constantly. Regardless of how you feel about the issue, from a partisan point of view, that’s a significant amount of stress that he’s under,” he said.
Mr. Bevilacqua said that Mr. Opitz shouldn’t fall into the trap of “wallowing and worrying” about his fate as he waits for a decision.
“You can’t let the judicial issues cloud your judgment. You need to remain focused at the work at hand,” he said.
As Mr. Opitz carries on his MP’s duties while waiting for a ruling, Mr. Jordan said that the uncertainty would affect the way he carries out his constituency work.
“You’re always making decisions about what events to go to, how to maximize your exposure in a positive way in the constituency,” he said.
There is also the possibility that while the ruling is yet to be made it risks undermining Mr. Opitz’s credibility with constituents, local politicians and bureaucrats who see him as holding the position temporarily.
Mr. Bevilacqua said that while he hopes that isn’t the case, Mr. Opitz would need to signal to the bureaucracy that he is very much a full-time MP ready to fight for his constituents.
“You can do that in a very professional way. You remind them that you’re a duly elected member,” he said.
There is a positive side to the attention, noted Mr. Jordan.
“You can now go to the PMO and say, ‘Give me this, I need this, because if you don’t give this to me, I’m going to lose,’” he said.
“He could be in a position, in some cases, to get a disproportionate amount of attention paid to his files now because of it,” he explained.
In addition to juggling his MP duties with the demands of his appeal, Mr. Opitz is likely already preparing for a potential byelection, said Mr. Jordan.
“It would be silly not to. You’ve got that third element of, ‘I’ve got to make sure my campaign team is ready, I’ve got to make sure we’ve got enough money in the bank,’” he stated.
Both Mr. Jordan and Mr. Bevilacqua likened the situation to being in a minority Parliament, where an MP must constantly be election-ready.
Mr. Opitz’s legal bills are being paid by the Conservative Party. Mr. Wrzesnewskyj has personally spent more than $300,000 on costs associated with the case.
The summer is hamburger season for MPs who attend a host of community events in their ridings, but they way Mr. Opitz handles this tradition will also be affected by the court case, said Mr. Jordan.
Depending on the level of support he gets from constituents, he may blitz the summer events, or he may decide to scale back.
“It would depend on what is his experience at these events. Are people supportive, are they confrontational?” said Mr. Jordan.
Mr. Wrzesnewskyj has said that no matter the outcome of the case, it will have an effect on how elections are carried out in Canada. Elections Canada head Marc Mayrand has said that his office is already trying to learn from what unfolded in Etobicoke Centre.
“In light of recent events, we have readjusted our plans to place a major priority on strengthening measures aiming to improve compliance with the procedures and standards applicable on voting days,” he told the House of Commons Committee on Procedure and House Affairs May 29.
“Our intention is threefold: first, to review the voter registration and voting process based on what transpired in Etobicoke Centre; second, to assess the effectiveness of existing checks and balances; and third, to engage key stakeholders in implementing solutions for the 2015 election. We believe this is critical, regardless of the outcome of the appeal,” he explained.
On CBC’s Power and Politics July 9, former NDP chief of staff Anne McGrath said that if the Supreme Court rules to overturn the election results, there would by “profound consequences” for the electoral system.
During the same program, Tom Flanagan, a former adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.), said that if the election results are overturned, this could lower the bar for contesting future elections to the point of making legal battles over results a common occurrence in Canada.
“I’m absolutely certain about this having been a campaign manager, campaign managers will start to build this into the campaign as a tactic,” he said.
Mr. Bevilacqua said that in cases such as his, and the one being fought now over Etobicoke Centre, it’s politicians’ responsibility to assure the Canadian public of the integrity of the electoral system.
“If these incidents become common, then you will get the erosion of trust and confidence in the system. That’s why it’s important to act,” he said.
Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Canada’s former chief electoral officer, said that while Elections Canada will learn from the situation in Etobicoke Centre, those lessons wouldn’t likely translate into changes in Canada’s elections law.
“This won’t change the system, it will only change how rigorously the systems are applied,” he told The Hill Times.
He added that the court appeals process is one of the measures built into Canada’s electoral process that are designed to protect the integrity of the voting system.
“Can we expect perfection? The answer is no,” he said.
“It’s part of how to correct imperfections and the fact that human nature will make mistakes. That’s how we correct it so that the person sitting in the House of Commons sits with the will of the people expressed in accordance with the law,” he added.
In the 40 days leading up to a general election, Elections Canada hires 235,000 temporary workers, including 185,000 people to work the thousands of polling stations across the country, according to Mr. Thomson.
On the day of the election, it registers more than 700,000 people the polling stations.
Mr. Kingsley said that Canadians expect workers and volunteers to follow elections procedures, and that this is a key part of Canadians’ faith in the system.
“They are trained to do their jobs. They are paid to take the training, they are paid for they work that they do on election day. It’s a long day, yes, but on the other hand they know what they are getting into, and therefore, one expects that they would perform their duties. This is what Canadians expect,” he said.
Mr. Bevilacqua suggested that Elections Canada’s training regime might have to be re-examined in light of what happened in Etobicoke Centre. Mr. Kingsley said that this is a regular occurrence after a general election.
If the Supreme Court rules that a byelection is in order, the Prime Minister has 180 days, plus an 11-day waiting period, to call a vote.
As they wait for the Supreme Court’s ruling, Mr. Bevilacqua said that both Mr. Wresnewskyj and Mr. Opitz need to keep the constituents they are fighting to represent at the top of their agenda.
“During these types of interesting times for the sitting member and the non-sitting member who lost his seat, you have to continue to serve the people. Then the people will decide, and you have to have faith and trust in them,” he said.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: Jessica Bruno
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