CBCNews.ca closes comments for poll blackout

CBCNews.ca is closing comments on all stories for several hours Mondayto comply with an elections law that forbids any instance of "premature transmission of results" until the last polls have closed in every electoral district in the country.

The Canada Elections Act affects CBC's coverage of the election, resulting in adjusted broadcast schedules and the changes to the website.

As of 5 p.m. ET Monday, comments on all CBCNews.ca storiesare to beclosed until all polling stations across the country have closed at 10 p.m. ET.

Elections Canada has issued a warning to Facebook and Twitter users to use caution on election day when communicating and posting voting results, saying the act also applies to transmissions made over the internet. The law was enacted when telecommunications were still in their infancy

Users are also discouraged from posting any advance polling information on any related social networking sites, including Facebook, as broadcasters and publishers go to great lengths to comply with the act when polls close in Newfoundland and Labrador.

CBC Television and CBC News Network will feature a live election special airing east of B.C. starting at 9:30 p.m. ET, when polling stations are closed elsewhere in the country. A blackout will be in effect in B.C. during that time, from 6:30 to 7 p.m. PT, before the broadcast goes coast to coast.

Online, CBCNews.ca will host a moderated live chat beginning at at 9 p.m. ET and on Facebook at 10 p.m. ET.

After 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT), the online blackout will be lifted and our CBCNews.ca's website, mobile and iPad/iPhone apps will have live results from across the country, live streaming video, full coverage of the regional and national election stories and comments on news stories will be reopened.

And social media users will once again be free to share their reaction to election results.