News Releases: Commissioner of Canada Elections

Commissioner of Canada Elections Releases Annual Report

Ottawa, Tuesday October 1, 2013

• The Commissioner of Canada Elections, Yves Côté, today released his first Annual Report.
• The Commissioner is the independent officer, appointed by the Chief Electoral Officer, responsible for enforcing the Canada Elections Act. Mr. Côté assumed his duties in July 2012.
• The main purpose of the report is to help Canadians better understand the mandate of the Commissioner and to provide information on what his office does, the type of complaints it receives, and the tools it has to carry out its work.
• The report also identifies some significant challenges encountered by the Commissioner in his investigations. It suggests ways they could be addressed through legislative changes to the Act.

"In the past year, we have dealt with a number of complex files requiring intensive investigative efforts," said Mr. Côté. "This has convinced me that legislative changes are needed to overcome the significant hindrance to our investigations posed by uncooperative witnesses. Also, there needs to be more ways to sanction offenders. For minor violations, in particular, criminal prosecutions cannot remain the only answer."

Information:
Elections Canada Media Relations
1-877-877-9515
or at www.elections.ca