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The bill currently exempts from election spending caps the cost of mail and phone calls to past donors, a provision the opposition says will tilt the field in the favour of the Conservatives when it comes to fundraising. Mr. Poilievre said the proposal is “not particularly important” and has been dropped, as has the clause that called for the winning party to be given the discretion to appoint central poll supervisors.

Critics of the bill said this was a further intrusion of partisanship into the process and created an advantage for the incumbent party.

Mr. Poilievre said telemarketing companies making calls on behalf of political parties would now be required to retain scripts and recordings from election calls for three years, instead of one.

Some will oppose the bill, no matter what, for their own reasons, and I am at peace with that

The changes will be welcomed by the Conservative caucus, which has been critical of the way the rollout of the bill has been handled by Mr. Poilievre, labeled “the most dangerous man in Canada” by Avaaz, the left-wing online “campaigning community.”

“Nobody was happy with the way Poilievre sold this. The caucus is willing to let him wear the embarrassment since he seemed to screw it up,” said one Conservative insider.

Mr. Poilievre was unapologetic. “There will be critics who will still not be satisfied. Some will oppose the bill, no matter what, for their own reasons, and I am at peace with that. The NDP announced its opposition to the bill before it was even introduced and Justin Trudeau plans to repeal even the parts of the bill that his party called for in the first place. That is life. We will stand firm for what is right. The Fair Elections Act is common sense. It is reasonable. And we are moving forward,” he said.

National Post

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