Court refuses to stay federal voter ID rule

TORONTO — Suspending a single provision of the Conservative government’s new voter law with a federal election only months away at most is just too risky, an Ontario judge ruled Friday. In his 25-page decision, Superior Court Justice David Stinson refused to grant an injunction against the provision that strips the use of voter information cards as a form of identification. “It is problematic to change the rules for elections at the last minute through the blunt instrument of judicial intervention,” Stinson wrote. “Late changes in election rules run the risk of unfairness or, at the very least, the perception of unfairness.” The Council of Canadians, Canadian Federation of Students, and three voters argue parts of the Fair Elections Act enacted last year are unconstitutional. They maintain that thousands of people could be disenfranchised by the new law. However, because the case can’t be resolved before the election — which must take place Oct. 17 at the latest — the applicants asked Stinson to grant an injunction against the provision related to using the voter information card as ID.