- Parties: The applicant was Rebel News Network Ltd. The respondents were the Attorney General of Canada and Canada (Commissioner of Canada Elections). 

- Subject Matter: The Deputy Commissioner of Canada Elections issued a decision finding that the applicant contravened ss. 352 and 353(1) of the Canada Elections Act, 2000. The Deputy Commissioner then issued two notices of violations (NOV #A-190752-1 and NOV #A-190752-2), which imposed an administrative monetary penalty for each violation. The Commissioner of Canada Elections confirmed this decision. The applicant sought judicial review of the Commissioner’s decision and filed a notice of constitutional question challenging the constitutional validity, applicability, and/or effect of subsection (b) of the definition of ‘election advertising’ under s. 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act. 

- Ruling: The court ruled in the respondents’ favour and dismissed the judicial review application upon finding the decision reasonable. The court noted that minimal impairment was the only aspect of the Oakes proportionality test that the applicant was challenging here. The court held that s. 2(1)(b), if it engaged s. 2(b) of the Charter, minimally impaired the applicant’s freedom of expression rights and thus prescribed a reasonable limit under s. 1 of the Charter. 

- Date: The hearing was set on Sept. 21, 2023. The court released its decision on Dec. 7, 2023. 

- Venue: This was a federal case before the Federal Court. 

- Amount: The court ordered the applicant to pay the all-inclusive sum of $5000 in costs to each respondent ($10,000 in total).