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2018 Allocation of Paid Time

Seal of the Broadcast Arbitrator

The Broadcasting Arbitrator

Suite 5300
Toronto-Dominion Bank Tower
Toronto, Ontario
M5K 1E6

Tel.: 416-601-7620
Fax: 416-868-0673
Cell: 647-588-7620


Reasons for Decision

On April 12, 2018, I convened a meeting of all the registered parties. The meeting was attended by 12 of the 14 parties.

Under section 340 of the Canada Elections Act, the purpose of the meeting was to reallocate any broadcasting time that had been allocated to a party that was deregistered among the remaining registered parties. At the same time, the meeting constituted the annual meeting required to be held under section 343 of the Act to "review the allocation...".

Since the last federal general election in 2015, I have issued three decisions. On July 14, 2016, my decision allocated broadcasting time to 23 registered parties. However, by the time of my next decision, on October 21, 2016, the following four parties had been deregistered:

  • Party for Accountability, Competency and Transparency
  • United Party of Canada
  • Canada Party
  • Forces et Démocratie

Accordingly, my decision on October 21, 2016, allocated time to 19 registered parties.

By the time of my next decision on April 13, 2017, the following three parties had been deregistered:

  • Canadian Action Party
  • Seniors Party
  • The Bridge Party of Canada

As a result, my decision on April 13, 2017, allocated time to 16 registered parties.

Since the time of my 2017 decision, two more parties have been deregistered:

  • National Advancement Party of Canada
  • Pirate Party of Canada

Accordingly, the task at the meeting on April 12, 2018, was to allocate the broadcasting time among the remaining 14 registered parties.

Prior to 2016, I used a "one-third modified allocation approach," under which one third of the available time was allocated equally among the registered parties. The remaining two thirds of the time were allocated on the basis of the statutory factors set out in section 338 of the Act.

However, in 2016, I decided to move the one third up to one half because I considered that all parties needed at least ten minutes of paid time to be able to make a meaningful case to the public, and that given the greater number of parties, the one-third approach did not achieve this goal.

At the meeting on April 12, 2018, I proposed using the same "one-half modified allocation approach" I had first used in 2016. Using this approach, one half of the available time is allocated equally among the registered parties. The remaining one half of the time is allocated on the basis of the statutory factors set out in section 338 of the Act. The resulting time is then rounded to the nearest half minute. The result is as shown in the attached table. Under this approach, every party is awarded at least 14 minutes of broadcasting time, an increase from the earlier allocations.

Five of the parties present accepted my proposed allocation, using the one-half modified allocation approach. However, a number of parties, while applauding my decision in 2016 to move from one third to one half, urged me to move to a scenario where all the broadcasting time would be allocated equally to the registered parties, and the statutory factors would be entirely ignored. When put to a vote, however, this was not supported by a number of parties. Nor was any other proposal accepted by all the parties present.

Having considered the matter, I have decided to stay with the one-half modified allocation approach introduced in 2016. As noted above, this approach gives each party at least 14 minutes of broadcasting time. In my decision of July 14, 2016, I referred to a 10-minute threshold as being the minimum amount of time that a party would need to make a meaningful case to the public. I am pleased to see that under the present allocation, all parties would exceed this threshold without having to rely on free time.

At the meeting, certain parties expressed concern that when scheduling free time, the networks with free time obligations insisted on political messages longer than 30 seconds to fill the time allotted to the parties. While I have no jurisdiction to deal directly with this matter, I will bring their concerns to the attention of the broadcasters.

Original signed by

Peter S. Grant
The Broadcasting Arbitrator
Toronto, April 30, 2018





Seal of the Broadcast Arbitrator

The Broadcasting Arbitrator

Suite 5300
Toronto-Dominion Bank Tower
Toronto, Ontario
M5K 1E6

Tel.: 416-601-7620
Fax: 416-868-0673
Cell: 647-588-7620


2018 Allocation of paid time

Order

Following a meeting of the registered parties held on April 12, 2018, and pursuant to subsection 337(3) of the Canada Elections Act, I hereby allocate the broadcasting time to be made available under section 335 of the Act on the basis set forth in the Appendix.

April 30, 2018

Original signed by

Peter S. Grant
The Broadcasting Arbitrator


APPENDIX

Allocation of Broadcasting Time to Be Made Available by Every Broadcaster Under Section 335 of the Canada Elections Act for Purchase by Registered Parties, as Determined by the Broadcasting Arbitrator Under Subsection 337(3) of the Act

(Toronto, April 30, 2018)

Political Party Min:Sec
Liberal Party of Canada 95:00
Conservative Party of Canada 69:30
New Democratic Party 47:30
Green Party of Canada 24:30
Bloc Québécois 22:00
Libertarian Party of Canada 16:00
Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada 15:30
Christian Heritage Party of Canada 15:00
Communist Party of Canada 14:30
Rhinoceros Party 14:30
Alliance of the North 14:00
Animal Protection Party of Canada 14:00
Marijuana Party 14:00
Progressive Canadian Party 14:00
Total 390:00