Rhino Herd Rumbles Into Regina Qu'Appelle
Well it is official the Rhinoceros Party of Canada has managed to land not just one, but two candidates, in Saskatchewan for the 43rd Federal Election to be held on October 21st.
The two candidates, Eric Normand is running for the Rhinoceros Party of Canada, while Kieran Szuchewycz is running as an Independent in the Regina Qu'Appelle riding. The telling factor associating the two candidates is they both have the same Official Agent, Tomas Szuchewycz.
List of candidates as of press time in the Regina Qu'Appelle riding
It's all a part of the satirical political party's attempt to set a Guiness World Record for the longest election ballot.
In a September 18th news release the Party said they have teamed up with Kieran Szuchewycz in order to create the World's Longest Ballot in Andrew Scheer's Regina - Qu'Apppelle riding.
Under the slogan “Make Democracy Longer” the Rhinos reveal details of how to get on the ballot for the Regina - Qu'Appelle riding as an Independent candidate.
“Lot of Canadians don’t want to hear about politics. They find it boring, uninteresting” Sébastien CoRhino, Leader of the Rhinos said in a statement.
“I want to prove them wrong. Elections are fun. Politics is nice. Democracy is useful. Politicians are good. This is why we’ll run the longest ballot ever in this riding! We think we can put about a hundred candidates on the ballot” CoRhino said in the same statement.
It is all based upon the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which allows every Canadian citizen the right to run for election as a federal candidate.
In an internal Rhino Party email Party leader CoRhino writes if the people who want to get on the ballot cannot the Party is prepared to take it to court. A court challenge has the potential of forcing a by-election in the Regina - Qu'Apppelle federal riding and change the law requiring Canadian citizens to have a proscribed number of signatures to seek federal election according to the Rhinos.
This election there is no $1000 deposit required to run, an Alberta court case based on the same portion of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is being used by the Rhinos to get around the signature requirement.
If the issue does end up in court and the Rhinos are shown to be correct then there is the potential federal election candidates would not need a deposit nor the signatures to seek office according to the Rhinos.
It is unknown if the Rhino Party would proceed with legal action but the Party did win a court case after the Mulroney PC government changed the Elections Act of what constitutes a federal political party putting the Rhino Party on hiatus.
So far nine people seeking to run in the Regina Qu'Appelle riding have been declined and the Party says they have up to 30 people ready to apply on the final day of nominations.
Stay tuned for more details as they become available.
NOTE - MJ Independent acting editor Robert Thomas ran a “successful” losing campaign in the 2015 federal election in the Moose Jaw - Lake Centre - Lanigan riding as a member of the Rhinoceros Party of Canada. He is no longer active in the Party.