TORONTO - A judge has thrown out Conservative MP Ted Opitz's 2011 election win in Etobicoke Centre after a challenge by Liberal Borys Wrzesnewskyj.
If the Ontario Court of Justice ruling delivered Friday is appealed it will be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The case represents the first time a court has been required to rule on a contested election using Part 20 of the Canada Elections Act, which was added by Parliament in 2000. It stipulates that an elector or candidate may seek to invalidate an election in a riding if “there were irregularities, fraud, corrupt or illegal practices that affected the results of the election.”
“It will impact on how elections are run in this country from this day forward,” Wrzesnewskyj's lawyer, Gavin Tighe, said when the suit was launched last month. “If elections aren’t conducted fairly, it’s hard to have any confidence in the results.”
The lawyer maintained at least 181 voters were improperly allowed to cast ballots in Etobicoke Centre, in some cases possibly more than once. Wrzesnewskyj lost by just 26 votes to Conservative Ted Opitz.
Judge tosses Etobicoke Centre federal election result | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun
If the Ontario Court of Justice ruling delivered Friday is appealed it will be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The case represents the first time a court has been required to rule on a contested election using Part 20 of the Canada Elections Act, which was added by Parliament in 2000. It stipulates that an elector or candidate may seek to invalidate an election in a riding if “there were irregularities, fraud, corrupt or illegal practices that affected the results of the election.”
“It will impact on how elections are run in this country from this day forward,” Wrzesnewskyj's lawyer, Gavin Tighe, said when the suit was launched last month. “If elections aren’t conducted fairly, it’s hard to have any confidence in the results.”
The lawyer maintained at least 181 voters were improperly allowed to cast ballots in Etobicoke Centre, in some cases possibly more than once. Wrzesnewskyj lost by just 26 votes to Conservative Ted Opitz.
Judge tosses Etobicoke Centre federal election result | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun