CONGRATULATIONS!

The NCC issued a news release June 29 celebrating the court's decision:

NCC Wins Victory: Court Overturns Gag Law Spending Limits

(Calgary June 29) The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench today struck down as unconstitutional the spending limits of the federal government's election gag law.

"This is a magnificent victory for freedom," says National Citizens Coalition president Stephen Harper, who launched the legal challenge to the gag law. "Justice Cairns has restored an important right for all Canadians and dealt a stunning defeat to those in the political establishment who want to shut citizens up during electoral debates."

Harper noted that in his judgement, Justice Robert Cairns ruled that there was no evidence whatsoever that unregulated independent political spending resulted in unfair elections.

"Cairns demolished the evidence and assertions of the federal Liberals and Chief Electoral Officer Jean Pierre Kingsely who claimed that allowing citizens to spend their own money to express their own views was somehow harmful to democracy," says Harper. "The Judge clearly ruled that gag laws cannot be justified in a free and democratic society."

The gag law made it illegal for private citizens or groups to spend more than $150,000 of their own money to comment on political parties, candidates or "issues associated" with parties and candidates during federal elections. The limit in any one constituency was $3000.

Harper, however, was disappointed that the judge did not also overturn the regulatory regime of the gag law.

"We will appeal that portion of his ruling," says Harper. "We don't think it's consistent with the rest of his judgement."

This marks the fourth time the NCC has been successful in overturning election gag laws in the courts.

(To read more about the NCC's fight against this and similar gag laws in Canada, visit their Web site at www.morefreedom.org.)

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