Elections Ontario
| Élections Ontario | |
 | |
| Office overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Provincial Elections in Ontario |
| Headquarters | 51 Rolark Drive,Toronto,Ontario |
| Employees | 81,792 (general election period)[1] |
| Office executive |
|
| Website | www.elections.on.ca |
Elections Ontario(French:Élections Ontario) is an independent office of theLegislative Assembly of Ontarioresponsible for the administration of provincialelectionsandreferendums.It is charged with the implementation and enforcement of theElection Act(R.S.O.,c. E.6),Election Finances Act(R.S.O. 1990, c. E.7),Representation Acts (various), as well as specific portions of theMunicipal Elections Act, 1996(S.O. 1996, c. 32, Sched.),Taxpayer Protection Act, 1999(S.O. 1999, c. 7, Sched. A), andFluoridation Act(R.S.O. 1990, c. F.22).[3]The agency collects information about political parties, candidates, constituency association, leadership contestants, and third parties involved in Ontario politics.[4]Elections Ontario is led by the Chief Electoral Officer, a non-partisan Officer of the Legislative Assembly chosen by an all-party committee. Greg Essensa, appointed in 2008, is the current Chief Electoral Officer. His predecessor was John Hollins, who held the position from 2001 to 2008.
Mandate
[edit]
Its responsibilities include:
- Administering the election process in general elections and by-elections
- Maintaining the Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario (PREO)
- Testing new voting equipment, vote-counting equipment and alternative voting methods
- Conducting public education on the electoral process
- Overseeing the registration of political parties, constituency associations, candidates, leadership contestants and third party advertisers
- Publishing on the Internet financial statements of the people and entities governed by the Act, including the real time disclosure of political contributions
- Reviewing financial statements to ensure compliance
- Distributing publicly funded subsidies
- Investigating and reporting apparent contraventions
- Recommending reforms to theElection ActandElection Finances Act.[3]
2012 Privacy Breach
[edit]In July 2012, Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa announced the April disappearance of twoUSB flash drivesholding data on 2.4 million voters in 25 Ontario ridings.[5]The data included the names, gender, birth date and address of voters.[6]The two staff members who lost the drives no longer work at Elections Ontario.[7]TheOntario Provincial Policeand theInformation and Privacy Commissioner of Ontariostarted investigations into the privacy breach described as "the largest in Ontario history".[8]Merchant Law Group filed a class action suit with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on July 20, 2012.[6][9][10]Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian issued a report with recommendations on the incident on July 31, 2012.[11]
Notable investigations
[edit]2015 Sudbury by-election bribery investigation
[edit]On February 19, 2015, Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa delivered a report to the Ontario legislature alleging that PremierKathleen Wynne's chief-of-staff Patricia Sorbara andSudburyriding organizer Gerry Lougheed Jr. had offered a job to Andrew Olivier, who intended to run to be the Liberal candidate in the by-election.[12]Ontario Provincial Policeinvestigated the allegations and laid two charges against Lougheed. Police did not lay charges against Sorbara.[13][14]
2018 Highway 407 data theft investigation
[edit]The Globe and Mailreported on May 20, 2018, that Elections Ontario had launched an investigation in response to a complaint thatProgressive Conservative Party of Ontariocandidates allegedly used data stolen from the407 ETR toll highwayto further party nomination campaigns in several ridings.[15]The complaint, filed by theOntario New Democratic Party,focused on the nomination contests in the ridings ofBrampton West,Brampton Centre,Brampton South,Burlington,Mississauga East—Cooksville,Mississauga—Erin Mills,Mississauga—Lakeshore,Mississauga—Streetsville,Oakville,Beaches—East York,MiltonandHamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas.[16]The Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas nomination is also the subject of a separate criminal investigation by theHamilton Police Service.[17]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Report on the 39th Provincial General Election"(PDF).elections.on.ca.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on July 6, 2011.
- ^"About Us".Elections Ontario.RetrievedSeptember 26,2021.
- ^ab"Strategic Plan 2013-2017"(PDF).Elections Ontario.
- ^Ontario, Elections."Political Entities".www.elections.on.ca.Retrieved2023-02-28.
- ^"Elections Ontario voter data goes missing: report".The Globe and Mail.2012-07-16.Retrieved2023-02-28.
- ^ab"Class action launched against Elections Ontario over missing voter information".The Globe and Mail.2012-07-20.Retrieved2024-04-05.
- ^Alphonso, Caroline (2012-07-17)."Elections Ontario warns voters of privacy breach as USBs holding personal data vanish".The Globe and Mail.Retrieved2023-02-28.
- ^"Elections Ontario warns voters of privacy breach as USBs holding personal data vanish".Retrieved9 April2018– via The Globe and Mail.
- ^"Elections Ontario faces class action over missing data".CBC.July 21, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 28,2023.
- ^"Elections Ontario Class Action".Merchant Law Group.Archived fromthe originalon August 22, 2015.
- ^"Elections Ontario's Unprecedented Privacy Breach: A Special Investigation Report"(PDF).Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 27, 2015.
- ^"The Chief Electoral Officer's Report on Apparent Contraventions of the Election Act"(PDF).Elections Ontario.February 19, 2015. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on September 30, 2015.
- ^"Liberal Gerry Lougheed charged in Sudbury byelection affair, but Wynne aide Pat Sorbara cleared".thestar.com.2015-09-24.Retrieved2023-02-28.
- ^Morrow, Adrian (2015-09-24)."Alleged Ontario Liberal bribery scandal shines light on world of political patronage".The Globe and Mail.Retrieved2023-02-28.
- ^Mahoney, Jill; Howlett, Karen (May 20, 2018)."Ontario elections watchdog reviewing PC candidate campaigns".The Globe and Mail.RetrievedJune 10,2018.
- ^Benzie, Robert (May 23, 2018)."NDP calls for Elections Ontario to probe 12 PC nominations".Toronto Star.RetrievedJune 10,2018.
- ^Benzie, Robert (January 24, 2018)."Spurned PC candidate ends civil suit, but criminal probe continues in Hamilton riding".Toronto Star.RetrievedJune 10,2018.
