Silver lining

There may be a silver lining for the possibly pending charges against Moore. Some more astute Canadians are urging charges be filed so that they can raise a challenge to the law. This is from the Globe and Mail:

Section 331 of the Canada Elections Act, part of a revamping of the act in 2000, prohibits "foreigners" from inducing electors to vote for or to refrain from voting for a particular candidate. This untested section says that non-residents or non-citizens who "willfully" make such comments during an election campaign could face a $2,000 fine or six months in jail. More than 1,600 people have signed Mr. Nejatian's petition to ask Elections Canada to prosecute, and the student is receiving support from an unlikely corner. "Personally, I think Michael Moore has every right to say whatever he wants about the Canadian election," said Gerry Nicholls, vice-president of the National Citizens' Coalition, which has been fighting what he calls Canadian election "gag laws" for years. But he wants charges laid so there can be a challenge to the law. Elections Canada isn't commenting on the yet-to-be-filed complaint. But one constitutional law professor called Section 331 a "joke" and unconstitutional because it unreasonably limits freedom of expression under the Charter of Rights. Quite so. It is a bad law. And Mr. Moore may be just the person to challenge it. Election campaign rules shouldn't give governments the right to dictate what voters can hear or what they can tune out.