Time off to Vote

To give everyone an opportunity to vote, federal legislation requires that eligible voters have a three-hour window of time off of work in order to cast their vote.

Employers must ensure employees have three consecutive hours free from work to vote. This applies during voting hours on polling day (Canada Elections Act, SC 2000, c 9 s 132).

If an employee’s hours of work don’t give a three-hour window, the employer must give the necessary time off to create a three-hour window.

Employers can choose when the time off is given but cannot deduct pay.

How It Works

Not sure if you need to give your employees time off? Three simple questions will help you figure it out:

1. What are the voting hours in your employee’s riding?
2. What are your employee’s work hours?
3. Do the work hours allow a 3-hour window to vote?

If there is already a 3-hour window, employers don’t have to give extra time off.

If an employee’s work hours do not allow for a 3-hour window, employers must give sufficient time off to create it.

Examples

Penalties & Fines for Non-Compliance

Employers cannot deduct pay or impose any penalty on an employee for time off given to vote.

Employers who fail to provide time off, deduct pay, or impose penalties can be prosecuted. If found guilty of violating s. 132, an employer is liable to a fine of not more than $2,000 or imprisonment for not more than three months, or both (s. 489(1), 500(1)).

Need More Info?

If you need more information about ridings (maps, polling stations), voting hours, and candidate lists, see Elections Canada where all of the official election info can be found.

No Partisan Activity

Charities cannot use any resources for partisan political purposes. That means that no resources can be used for “the direct or indirect support of, or opposition to, any political party or candidate for public office.” Resources is an all-encompassing term. It means financial, human, and physical.

Practically speaking, this means that a charity cannot:

• Endorse candidates or parties
• Tell people to vote for – or not vote for – a candidate or party
• Donate to a candidate or party
• Buy tickets to a candidate or party fundraiser
• Provide staff or board members to canvass door-to-door in their capacity as charity representatives
• Allow staff to volunteer for a candidate or party during paid work hours
• Provide space free of charge or below fair market value to a candidate or party
• Invite only one candidate to speak to the charity’s donors

Charities can still speak about issues relevant to their purposes. Charities can still support or oppose a law, policy or decision of government. Charities can still communicate about the policy positions of candidates and parties. Charities can hold candidates’ debates.

But it must be done without supporting or opposing a candidate or party. What does that look like?

Be Neutral and Focus on Policy Issues Related to Your Charity

Focus on underlying policy issues that further your charitable purposes. Explain that your charity supports policies that (e.g.) affirm the value of religion in Canadian society; don’t say that your charity supports a candidate’s position.

Present information about all candidates and parties in a neutral way; don’t highlight policy positions of candidates and parties with which your charity agrees or disagrees.

Invite all candidates to a debate, giving each person an equal opportunity to speak; don’t invite only one or two candidates.

If a candidate or party takes the same position on an issue as your charity, that doesn’t mean your charity is engaging in prohibited activities. CRA notes that even if a candidate or party adopts your charity’s policy approach, shares your charity’s research or comments on your charity itself, your charity is not engaging in prohibited activities so long as those are independent actions of the candidate or party.

For more information, see CCCC Member Resource page on Lobbying and PPDDA and CRA Guidance CG-027 Public policy dialogue and development activities by charities.

Canada Elections Act and Third-Party Registration

Under the Canada Elections Act, third parties must register with Elections Canada if they (1) conduct regulated activities and (2) spend $500 or more on those activities.

Third Parties

A third party is a person or group that wants to participate in or influence elections other than as a political party, electoral district association, nomination contestant or candidate. Charities can be third parties.

Regulated Activities

Regulated Activities under the Canada Elections Act include:

Pre-Election/Partisan Advertising: Advertising to the public by any means a paid message that promotes or opposes a political party, candidate or party leader other than by taking a position on an issue with which a party or candidate is associated. Charities are prohibited from partisan advertising.

Election Advertising: Advertise to the public by any means a paid message that promotes or opposes a political party or candidate including by taking a position on an issue with which a party or candidate is associated. Charities are prohibited from promoting or opposing parties or candidates but can speak to and take positions on issues.

Partisan Activities: Promote or oppose a party, candidate, party leader other than taking a position on an issue with which a party or candidate is associated. Charities are prohibited from partisan activities.

Surveys: Ask about voting intentions or about an issue with which a party or candidate is associated, the results of which are used to decide whether or not the third party will engage in regulated activities. Charities can conduct surveys.

More About Election Advertising

Election advertising includes taking a position on an issue with which a party or candidate is associated. Association means clear association; advertising that effectively promotes or opposes a party or candidate. The broader the third party’s message the less likely it is to be “clearly associated.”

In terms of cost, social posts with no cost is not election advertising. If you pay to boost the post, that counts toward the $500 or more threshold. A third party’s website is not election advertising, but a radio ad promoting a policy issue is election advertising.

Registration

If a charity finds itself spending $500 or more for election advertising, it must immediately register with the Chief Electoral Officer and comply with various requirements, including, among other things, spending limits, banking procedures, and expense returns. No third party can use foreign funds for election advertising, nor can it collude with other third parties to circumvent the CEA.

For more information, see CCCC Member Resource page on Lobbying and PDDDA, Dos and Don’ts for Charities During the Federal Election, and Elections Canada Third Party FAQ and Tools for Third Parties.

The post Election Reminders for Charities appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

To give everyone an opportunity to vote, the Canada Elections Act (CEA) requires that eligible voters have three consecutive hours to cast their vote on election day (s.132(1) CEA).

Three Hour Window to Vote

This means employers must make sure work hours allow employees a three hour window to vote.

If an employee’s hours of work don’t give a three-hour window, the employer must give the necessary time off to create a three-hour window. There is a narrow exception for transportation companies (s 132(3)).

Employers can choose when the time off will be given.

How It Works

Not sure if you need to give your employees time off? Three simple questions will help you figure it out:

1. What are the voting hours in your employee’s riding?
2. What are your employee’s work hours?
3. Do the work hours allow a 3-hour window to vote?

If there is already a 3-hour window, employer’s don’t have to give extra time off.

If there is not a 3-hour window, employers do have to give time off to create that 3-hour window.

Examples

Penalties & Fines for Employer Non-Compliance

Employers cannot deduct pay or impose any penalty on an employee for time off given to vote.

Employers who fail to provide time off, deduct pay, or impose penalties can be prosecuted (s 489(1)(a)). Punishment is a maximum fine of $2,000 and/or three months in prison (s 500(1)).

Need More Info?

If you need more information about ridings (maps, polling stations), voting hours, and candidate lists, check Elections Canada where all of the official elections info can be found.

The post 2021 Federal Election: Time Off to Vote appeared first on CCCC Blogs.

WHY IT MATTERS

Elections always matter, of course! Votes determine who represents Canadians in Parliament, and the party with the majority of successful candidates will form the government.

But for charities, what matters right now is whether your activities are regulated under the Canada Elections Act.

During the election period, any “third party” (including charities) that spends $500 or more on certain activities has to register with Elections Canada. The election period starts on the day the election is called and ends on election day when the polls close. That means right now.

So your charity needs to ask: are any of our activities regulated under the Canada Elections Act?

WHAT IS REGULATED?

Naturally, the next question is, what activities are regulated? There are two types of regulated activity that apply to charities:

1. Election advertising: publicly sending messages that promote or oppose a political party or candidate including by taking a position on an issue with which the party or candidate is clearly associated.

How do you know if your issue is associated with a party or candidate? It all depends on the context. The broader the advertising, the less likely there will be a clear association. Elections Canada explains that where a candidate has championed or opposed a cause and it’s a central part of that campaign, it would likely be regulated.

2. Election surveys: surveys that are used to decide whether or not you’ll participate in election advertising or that are used to organize and carry out election advertising. Importantly, it includes surveys that are directed at your own members or employees.

IMPORTANT! Charities are ALWAYS prohibited from supporting or opposing political parties or candidates. Whether there is an election, or whether your charity registers as a third party under the Canada Elections Act, supporting or opposing parties or candidates is ALWAYS off limits.

HOW IS IT REGULATED?

As soon as your charity conducts any regulated activity with expenses of $500 or more, you have to:

• Register as a third party with Elections Canada
• Open a separate bank account for the sole purpose of your regulated activities
• Appoint a financial agent to
  • administer financial transactions related to your regulated activities
  • report them to Elections Canada
  • Note: this person has to consent to the role and must be identified in your initial registration form.

If your expenses are $10,000 or more, an auditor must be appointed. Depending on when the $10,000 threshold is reached, interim reporting may be required.

Four months after election day, the financial agent must send a third party return and an auditor’s report, if applicable.

The expense limit on regulated activities is $525,700 overall and $4,506 in a given electoral district.

WHAT IS NOT REGULATED

There are activities that aren’t regulated. These include:

• Editorials, debates, speeches, interviews, columns, letters, commentary or news
• Distributing a book for its commercial value if its release was planned regardless of the election
• Sending a document directly to members, employees or shareholders
• Individual, free, online communication about personal political views (charities need to be cautious here that the personal political views are clearly dissociated from the charity)
• Calling electors only to encourage them to vote
• A third party’s own website content, and social media messages that do not have a placement cost

IMPORTANT!

The Canada Elections Act registration requirements must be read along with two other important limits:

1. Income Tax Act limitations. Your charity can participate in public policy dialogue and development activities, but can never support or oppose a political party or candidate.
2. Lobbying Act requirements. If your charity communicates directly or indirectly with federal public office holders, you need to be aware of the lobbying rules and might need to register.

CONCLUSION

Charities can participate in the election process, and can register as third parties. Just make sure you’re aware of the expenses you’re incurring, whether any of your advertising or survey activities fall within the scope of what is regulated, and ensure that you are not supporting or opposing any particular candidate or party.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Elections Canada, Political Financing Handbook for Third Parties, Financial Agents and Auditors (June 2021)

Elections Canada, “Questions and Answers for Third Parties”

CCCC, Say What? Dos and Don’ts for Charities During the Federal Election (Part I)

CCCC, Say What? Dos and Don’t for Charities During the Federal Election (Part II)

DID YOU KNOW?

Although in practice the Prime Minister generally decides when an election is going to happen, there are formalities to the process.

The Governor General acts on the advice of the Prime Minister. When the Prime Minister recommends that Parliament be dissolved, the Governor General will issue a proclamation to dissolve Parliament.

Dissolving Parliament means that any bills that are still going through the process will “die” – that is, the next government has to re-introduce the bills and the whole process starts over. Even if a bill has been through a committee process it will have to start at the beginning. It can’t start at committee.

You can find out more about the Parliamentary cycle here.

The post Federal Election 2021: What Charities Need to Know appeared first on CCCC Blogs.