Elections Canada sets up all-party advisory panel after spending controversies

OTTAWA – The head of Elections Canada has set up a new advisory panel that cuts across political lines to advise him on the conduct of elections.

The 13-member panel includes a number of high profile ex-politicians and it spans the political spectrum.

It includes Reform Party founder Preston Manning, former Liberal MPs Bob Rae and John Manley, former Conservative finance minister Michael Wilson, the former NDP premier of Saskatchewan Roy Romanow, and sitting Conservative Sen. Hugh Segal.

It also includes Sheila Fraser, a retired auditor general, and Ian Binnie, a former Supreme Court justice.

Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand says beginning this fall, the panel will meet twice a year, advising on the conduct of elections, electoral participation by voters and political figures, regulatory compliance and electoral reform.

The move comes after a string of federal election controversies involving MPs, including the decision last month to lay four Canada Elections Act charges against Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro.