fixed election date

Today would have been election day in Canada—and that could have had perverse consequences

David Akin would like some answers.

Rob Nicholson, Nov. 6, 2006. Yet another reason for adopting fixed date elections is that this measure will likely improve voter turnout because elections will be held in October, except when a government loses the confidence of the House.  The weather is generally favourable in most parts of the country.  Fewer people are transient. So, for example, most students will not be in transition between home and school at that time and will be able to vote.  Moreover, seniors will not be deterred from voting as they might be in colder months … The government’s bill provides that the date for the next general election is Monday, October 19, 2009.

I’ve been spending more time than I’d like trying to sort through this fixed-election stuff. Over at his stuffily-named “Andrew Coyne’s Blog”, AC accuses me of actually cheering Harper on w/r/t ignoring the fixed-election date. True enough. My reasoning is a bit elliptical on this, but it boils down to this: I hate the fixed-date amendment, and I think that if this parliament makes it to the fixed date it will set a precedent that I believe to be constitutionally dangerous in the long term. So, I think the short-term political damage done by ignoring it is mild compared to the constitutional damage that could follow if it becomes entrenched.