What’s really at stake in the Etobicoke hearing? Trust

For anyone interested in politics, the arguments before the Supreme Court Tuesday on whether it should order a new election for Etobicoke Centre were compelling.

Yet it was difficult to avoid a sickening feeling. Elections in democracies are based, not just on rules, but on trust. As politics at the federal level becomes more and more bare-knuckle, trust is disappearing. That, really, was why the judges were forced to interrupt their holiday.

Supreme Court hears democracy at stake in Etobicoke case

Lawyers for the former and current MPs for Etobicoke Centre debated how serious clerical errors need to be before a new election is required, as part of a case at Canada's top court over missing paperwork from last year's federal vote.

Put another way, how easy should it be for Canadians to vote?

Conservative MP Ted Opitz is fighting a lower court decision that declared his 2011 election win null and void. The appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is his only recourse to avoid having to fight another election against his former opponent, Liberal Borys Wrzesnewskyj.

Etobicoke Centre Byelection Will Be Close, If It Happens

The Supreme Court of Canada will begin hearing the case of the overturned election result in Etobicoke Centre on Tuesday and if it upholds the ruling of the Ontario Superior Court, voters in the riding will be headed to the polls in a byelection before the year is up.

If the 2011 result in the riding is any indication, it could be a close one.

When the ballots were counted on May 2 of last year, Conservative candidate Ted Opitz came out on top with 21,644 votes to the incumbent Liberal Borys Wrzesnewskyj’s 21,618 votes. So close was the result that two decimal points are needed to express the outcome: the Conservatives took 41.21 per cent of the vote to the Liberals’ 41.16 per cent.