Article content

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will hold a special summer hearing on July 10 to decide whether voters in the Toronto riding of Etobicoke Centre will go back to the polls for a redo of the May 2011 election.

The hearing will take a place much sooner than desired by Ted Opitz, the MP whose election was overturned by Justice Thomas Lederer, of the Ontario Superior Court, on May 18.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Overturned election in Toronto riding will go to Supreme Court in July Back to video

Lederer ruled that the Opitiz’s election was invalid because defeated Liberal candidate Borys Wrzesnewskyj succeeded in proving that at least 79 votes were counted that should not have been. Opitz won the election by a 26-vote margin.

Wrzesnewskyj spent more than $250,000 of his own money on the court challenge under the Elections Act, which allows for Opitz to keep his seat in the House of Commons until the top court can hear the appeal, “without delay and in a summary manner.”

[np-related]

Wrzesnewskyj’s lawyers asked the court to hold a hearing on June 27, arguing that until the hearing is held, the voters of Etobicoke Centre are being represented by someone who may not be their legitimate representative.