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“Politics should not be a lifelong career,” a 20-year-old Pierre Poilievre once wrote, “and elected officials should not be allowed to fix themselves in the halls of power of a nation.”

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The government has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown on its Fair Elections Act by claims from the opposition and academics that the bill damages Canadian democracy.

Pierre Poilievre, the rookie democratic reform minister, unveiled the changes Friday, after weeks of criticism from MPs on all sides of the House, and in the Senate, at a number of contentious provisions in the bill.

Much of the criticism has centred on the end of vouching, where a person without proof of identity can still vote if they are accompanied by another voter who has the required identification. Critics claimed the move is intended to suppress voting by groups hostile to the Conservatives such as students and aboriginals. A number of academics have signed a petition claiming it infringes on the Charter right to vote.