Brian Graff: Party and Membership Arrangements

brian graff: However, Nordheimer flatly rejected the New Democrats' argument that the courts had no business taking the extraordinary and unprecedented step of meddling in purely partisan political activity, according to Huffington Post Canada. Courts shouldn't referee party disputes judge A registered party, he said, is not just another private, voluntary club making its own membership arrangements. In his decision, Divisional Court Justice Ian Nordheimer ruled the party acted reasonably in rejecting a leadership bid from Brian Graff in part over a 25-year-old criminal charge. The decisions that political parties, especially the major political parties, make in terms of the candidates they put forward, the policies they adopt, and the leader that they choose, do have a very serious effect on the rights and interests of the entire voting public, Nordheimer said. While parties are neither a public decision-maker nor government agent, Nordheimer said the court's jurisdiction flowed from the key democratic roles they play. The voting public, therefore, has a very direct and significant interest in ensuring that the activities of political parties are carried out in a proper, open and transparent manner. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.