Lawyer retained to study province's contentious election blackout law

The Manitoba government has retained a lawyer to review how thecontroversialban on certain government communications during byelectionsis interpreted.

The province cited a number of instances when the blackout provisions "unfairly prevented information from being conveyed to the public," said a statement attributed to deputy premier Heather Stefansonon Tuesday.

The governmentretained Winnipeg lawyer Michael Green, a former commissioner of elections for Elections Manitoba, to review the blackout law and make recommendations onpotential changes.

Green has extensive experience inelections law, the province said.

On Tuesday, the province claimed it could not tell the public aboutheavy metal contamination in an area of St. Boniface because of the blackout.

Affected residents learned of the unsafe soil inletters they received last week,CBCNewsreported.

From June 19 until polls closed on Tuesday, culminating in the election of Dougald Lamont, government officials told CBCtheir ability to communicate was limited because of the law.

While Elections Manitoba maintains the ban is only on government advertising to ensure fairness with otherparties, even factual questions like the opening of asplash pad have beenleft unanswered.

Section 92 ofthe Election Financing Actstates a government department or Crown agency "must not advertise or publish any information about its programs or activities."

Elections Manitoba acknowledged the law can be hard to decipher and recommended new wording at thestanding committee of legislative affairs in December 2016.

Green will consultwith various organizations, including Elections Manitoba, the commissioner of elections, the auditor general and political parties, todevisea plan. He expect to make some recommendations to update the legislation, which he considers to be confusing.

"It's both conceptual and the wording of the legislation is somewhat obscure," he said in an interview Wednesday.

"It's not terribly well-written, to be honest."