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The B.C. Civil Liberties Association wants to hear from organizations across Canada about how federal elections laws affected their freedom of expression during the recent federal election.

The association said Wednesday it has heard complaints from groups about problems with the third party advertiser reporting rules.

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The association is “concerned about a chill on organizations” with relevant expertise who represent people deeply affected by the election’s key issues, said acting executive director Maggie Knight, in a statement early Wednesday.”We think the debate suffers when these organizations self-censor out of fear.”

So the association has launched a survey for organizations to fill out online regarding freedom of expression concerns during the federal election. The survey is available at bccla.org/election-chill

The association says the impact may be particularly severe on small civil society organizations with few staff who lack resources to seek legal advice.