election "blackout" court challenge

Paul Bryan, a software developer from British Columbia, is fighting the law that bars publishing any election results before all polling stations across Canada's six time zones are closed. He was charged in 2000 after posting results from 32 Atlantic ridings on the Internet before polls had closed on the West Coast.

The federal government argues otherwise. All Canadian voters should go to the polls with the same set of facts.

Bryan's court challenge is financially backed by the National Citizens Coalition, and his case received support by interveners from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and a group representing most national media outlets, including The Canadian Press. -- more