Watchdog failed to show 2008 vote illegal: Federal Court

Sue Bailey writes:

Harper asked the Governor General to dissolve Parliament last September despite his own fixed-date election law. That law set the next federal vote for Oct. 19, 2009 – or sooner, if the government lost a non-confidence vote.

Democracy Watch says Harper broke his promise of election reform and the spirit of the law in a blatant grab for majority power.

But Justice Shore said the group’s lawyer, Peter Rosenthal, gave only vague evidence as to how the snap campaign put opposition parties and voters at a disadvantage.

The Crown argued the Prime Minister had a right to “pre-empt a non-confidence vote,” despite the fixed-date election law.