denied important information about candidates to electors when completing their ballot. The Court instructed Parliament to establish a lower threshold in such cases. Following this ruling, Parliament again amended the Act to set a 12-candidate threshold for the party identifier, meaning that parties fielding at least 12 candidates in a general election would have the party name included on the ballot next to their candidates names. Figueroa, represented by Peter Rosenthal, then sought to appeal this judgment to the Supreme Court of Canada, arguing that the ruling of the Ontario Court of Appeal was flawed in interpreting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that the 50-candidate rule did in fact constitute discrimination against smaller parties under the Charter. The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) granted leave to appeal, and the case was argued before the SCC in 2002. Opinion of the court Justice Iacobucci, writing for the majority, stated that section 3 protects not just the right to vote but also provides the right of every citizen to participate in politics. The right ensures that each citizen can express an opinion about the formation of the country's public policy and the country's institutions. However, Iacobucci noted that section 3 does not protect unlimited participation. Rather it protects: the right of each citizen to play a meaningful role in the process; the mere fact that the legislation departs from absolute voter equality or restricts the capacity of a citizen to participate in the electoral process is an insufficient basis on which to conclude that it interferes with the right of each citizen to play a meaningful role in the electoral process. For a violation to be found there must be a prohibition against "meaningful" participation. See also List of Supreme Court of Canada cases (McLachlin Court) External links Communist Party of Canada Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms case law Supreme Court of Canada cases 2003 in Canadian case law