N.B. legislature to close loophole in fixed-date election law after court ruling

The New Brunswick legislature is fixing a flaw in the province's fixed-date election law.

The New Brunswick legislature is fixing a flaw in the province's fixed-date election law.

An amendment approved by a committee of MLAs on Tuesday aims to make the statute lawsuit-proof if a premier opts to call an early election in the future.

The change is a response to a ruling last December from the New Brunswick Court of Appeal that opened the door to fighting such early election calls.

By removing a reference to the premier in the act, the province will likely eliminate that possibility.

"The only reason we're here: take out the word 'premier,' and make it consistent with the rest of the country," Justice Minister Ted Flemming said while responding to opposition questions on the bill.

Flemming confirmed the bill was drafted in response to that.

"Every time you turn around, they're taking a legal action against some kind of an election," he said of the self-styled watchdog group.

The bill "came about because the court of appeal, in listening to the Democracy Watch appeal on the 2020 election, said … 'Why is New Brunswick's statute different than everyone else's? It enables mischief or whatever.'"