[10] Prior to an election being called, the applicants' interest in s. 329 of the Canada Elections Act was not purely hypothetical. In accordance with s. 4 of the Charter, a federal election must be called in Canada every five years. The applicants submit that they are two of the largest media organizations in [page685] Canada and that they provide live coverage and up-to-the-minute information on federal elections. The possibility of the applicants being subject to s. 329 when reporting election results was not speculative. The applicants expect to be, and have been in the past, required to comply with s. 329 of the Canada Elections Act at least once every five years. It would not have been premature for the applicants to bring this application prior to the federal election being called. [11] When considering whether to grant an application for an expedited hearing, procedural fairness to both parties must be taken into account. The factors the court may consider include whether irreparable harm will result if the hearing is not expedited and whether a timetable can be agreed upon which is convenient to the court and the parties: see Apotex Inc. v. Wellcome Foundation Ltd., [1998] F.C.J. No. 859, 228 N.R. 355 (C.A.); Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Dragan, [2003] F.C.J. No. 434, 2003 FCA 139, 25 Imm. L.R. (3d) 163, 303 N.R. 112. [12] As outlined above, the application record contains five affidavits which include significant amounts of social science evidence and statistical analysis. [13] Assessing and responding to the applicants' evidence would require time. The respondent would be required to consider the record that was before the Supreme Court in the R. v. Bryan case, the application record of the applicant which it has just received and would have to retain and consider its own expert evidence. The respondent would also be required to make significant Charter arguments. Each counsel would have the right to cross-examine the affiants submitted by the opposing 2011 ONSC 2281 (CanLII) not be ripe: the bill may never be enacted or may be significantly amended before enactment.

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