Mississauga.com Elections -

What you need to know

Mississauganews Elections — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:12:52 -0400

New identification requirements

To vote people must prove their name and address at the polling station.
This year there are new identification requirements for people voting Tuesday, Oct. 14. The three options are:
1. They must either provide one original piece of identification issued by a government agency with a photograph, name and address, such as a driver's license.
2. Provide two pieces of identification authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Both must have the voter's name and one must contain an address, such as a health card and a hydro bill.
3. A voter can swear an oath and be vouched by a voter who is on the list of electors in the same polling division and who has acceptable pieces of identification. They could be a neighbour or roommate.
To see a complete list of acceptable forms of identification check out the Elections Canada website at www.elections.ca.

Face Coverings

A person wearing a face covering at a polling station will be invited by a deputy returning officer to show his or her face. If the voter agrees to remove their face covering, then they will be allowed to follow regular voting procedures.
If a person does not wish to remove their face covering they will be asked to swear an oath that they are eligible to vote. If they do so, they will be allowed to follow regular voting procedures.
People who refuse to show their face or swear an oath will not be permitted to vote.

Incarcerated voters

People who are in a correctional institution or a federal penitentiary in Canada may vote by special ballot in an election or referendum. A staff person in the institution is appointed as liaison officer and helps in the process of voting. They will also answer questions about the way to vote and help people register.
The incarcerated individual's ordinary residence is not the correctional institution, it's the one of the following places: (The top one on the list should be used)

1. His or her residence before being incarcerated.
2. The residence of a spouse, a common-law partner or a person with whom the person would live if they were not incarcerated.
3. The place of their arrest.
4. The last court where the voter was convicted and sentenced.

Registering to vote

Those wishing to vote in the federal elections will need to add their name to the voters list.
There are three ways of doing this:

1. Contact your local returning officer.
2. You can register at the advance poll. To do so, show a government document with your photograph name and address, like a driver's license, or two pieces of identification from an authorized list, one with your name and another with your name and address, those could be a social insurance number card and a hydro bill, or if you do not have acceptable identification, you can be vouched by someone who is on the voters list in your polling division who has acceptable identification.
3. You can also register at a polling station on election day. You must show identification as described above. Elections Canada advises people to register before election day.
To locate the address of your returning officer, the date and location of advance polls in your riding and the polling station on election day use the Voter Information Service on the Elections Canada website at www.elections.ca. You can also call Elections Canada at 1-800-463-6868. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can call TTY 1-800-361-8935.

Returning officers

Returning officers are appointed by the Chief Electoral Officer for a 10-year period. The federal returning officer administers the electoral process in a federal electoral district.
People can contact their returning officer to register to vote.
The six returning officers in Mississauga's federal ridings are:

1. The Mississauga-Brampton South Returning Officer is Antonio Ronald, 5430 Timberlea Blvd., Suite 1, Mississauga, L4W 2T7, phone number 1

2. The Mississauga East-Cooksville Returning Officer is Morgan Janet, 90 Dundas St. West, Suite 104, Mississauga, L5B2T5, phone number 1-866-241-7890.

3. The Mississauga-Erindale Returning Officer is Heenan John, 3585 Laird Rd. Suite 9, Mississauga, L5L 5Z8, phone number 1-866-241-7891.

4. The Mississauga-South Returning Officer is Doda Fran, 1865 Lakeshore Rd. West, Mississauga, L5J 4P1, phone number 1-866-241-7892.

5. The Mississauga-Streetsville Returning Officer is Arafat Arafat, 2525 Meadowvale Blvd., Mississauga, L5N5S2, phone number 1-866-249-5751.

6. The Bramalea-Gore-Malton Returning Officer is Barber Janice, 740-A Bramalea Rd., Mississauga, L5S 1X1, phone number 1-866-236-8616.

Voters with special needs

Elections Canada has worked to remove barriers that voters may face at the polls and since 1992 amendments to legislation have been made to better adapt to the needs of Canadians, particularly those with disabilities.
People can vote on polling day, at an advance poll or by special ballot.
A special ballot is a system done through the use of envelopes that protects the secrecy of the vote, while people vote by mail or in person at their local Elections Canada office. Everyone can use this system but it is particularly useful to disabled persons who might have difficulty in getting to a polling station.
All Canadian Government buildings are accessible.
All revision offices, all polling stations and all other places used during an election must have level access. There are some exceptions to the rule under exceptional local circumstances. Accessibility is indicated on a voter information card which is sent to registered voters.
Elections Canada has made modifications to buildings during elections throughout Canada to ensure level access.
All returning officers across the country are trained on accessibility and awareness of special needs.
For more information on voting by special ballot visit the Elections Canada website at www.elections.ca, from the home page click on the Voters link, then Voters with special needs link, then the Voting by Special Ballot.

Time off work to vote

All employees who are qualified electors, people who are 18 years of age or older and Canadian citizens on polling day, are entitled to three consecutive hours to vote. If an employee’s hours of work do not allow a person three consecutive hours to vote, the employer must allow them sufficient time off to allow three consecutive hours to vote.
For example, people who are in electoral districts where voting is between 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. and the person's working hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., they do not have three consecutive hours to vote. Employers may allow workers to arrive late at 12:30 p.m. or leave early at 6:30 p.m. or provide their workers three hours during the working day.
The employer is allowed to decide when on polling day to make that time available to an employee.
Not all employers are obligated to provide this time to their workers. They are:
1. Those employed in transporting goods or passengers by land, air or water.
2. Those employed outside their polling division.
3. Those employed in the operation of transportation.
4. The time off cannot be allowed without interfering in the transportation service.
People who are given time off to vote must be paid as if they had worked regular hours.
It is an offense for employers to deny their workers time off to vote or to reduce their pay for taking time off. It is also an offense for an employer to intimidate their workers, use undue influence or any other means not to grant their workers time off. There are penalties of fines, prison terms or both for such offenses.

Voting Times

The hours of voting on election day at a general election, or when by-elections are held on the same day in more than one time zone, have been staggered so that the majority of results are available at approximately the same time across the country.
Eastern Time voting hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Voting by mail

A person eligible to vote in a federal election can do so from anywhere in the world.
To do so they will need to apply online at www.elections.ca and answer a few questions, and complete an application form.
That form will need to be printed, signed and send the completed form along with supporting documents as are described in the instructions.
To do so on the web site, from home page click the Voters icon, then the Voting by Mail while Inside or Outside Canada link.

Who Can Vote

To vote you must be a Canadian citizen, be 18 years of age or older and prove your identity and address.

Voting by special ballot

A person who cannot or chooses not to be at a polling station during an election can vote by special ballot. By special ballot, they can vote by mail or in person at the office of any returning officer. A person away from their electoral district, inside or outside of Canada, can register to vote with Elections Canada in Ottawa.
The following are Special Voting Rules which apply to voters:
1. Voters away from their electoral districts, inside or outside of Canada.
2. Voters in their electoral districts who cannot or wish not to go to an ordinary poll or an advance poll to vote.
3. Canadian citizens temporarily residing outside of Canada.
4. Canadian Forces voters. This also includes civilians employed as teachers or administrative staff in Canadian Forces schools outside of Canada.
5. Incarcerated electors
In all these cases, the voter must have a civic address. Their vote will be counted in the riding that address is in.

General principles of voting by special ballot:
People who are not Forces members or incarcerated that chose to vote by special ballot must register to vote by special ballot no later than 6 p.m. on the Tuesday before polling day.
They must get the names of the candidates running in their riding and print the name they are voting for, not the political party. During a referendum, each question is printed on a separate ballot and the voter will check off a yes or a no.
Those voting by special ballot outside their electoral district must ensure their ballot arrives at Elections Canada in Ottawa no later than 6 p.m., Ottawa time, on polling day.
Those voting in their own electoral district, must ensure the returning officer for that district receives a complete ballot before the close of the polls in that district on polling day.
Once a person's application to vote by special ballot has been approved, that person will have to vote that way. They cannot vote at a regular poll or an advance poll. The only exception to this rule is if Canadian Forces member is in their electoral district and has not yet voted by the special voting ballot.
People voting by special ballot will receive instructions how to do so in their voting package.

Registration:
A person must register as soon as possible after an election has been called by sending an Application for Registration and Special Ballot form to the office of his or her returning officer. This form can be requested in person, by mail, by telephone or by fax from the office of the returning officer. It can also be downloaded from the Elections Canada website.

For more information on voting by special ballot visit www.elections.ca. From the home page click on the Voters tab, then click on Voters with special needs link, and then click on the Voting by Special Ballot link.

Who is your Member of Parliament

To find out who your MP is, visit the Parliamentary website at www.parl.gc.ca. On the site, you may search by your postal code, an alphabetical list of members or by province, territory and riding.
To find out who the candidates are in your electoral district visit the Elections Canada website at www.elections.ca. Once there, input your postal code on the home page. The next page will show you which riding you are in, and other basic information. Click on Who are the candidates in my electoral district? to see a list of candidates in that riding.
When voting, there will only be a list of names on the ballot sheet. It will not state state the political party each candidate is affiliated with.

Young voters, why you need to vote

Voting lets you speak your mind, according to the Elections Canada website. It lets you be heard. The Elections Canada website (www.elections.ca) will answer many questions you may have about voting.
Studies show that voter turnout among Canadians is at an unprecedented low and it has been declining since the 80s. In the federal election in 2000, young voter turnout (those aged 18 to 24) was about 25 per cent, according to Elections Canada.
Elections Canada reminds youth that the right to vote is a fundamental democratic right. It is the cornerstone of democracy. When we vote, we chose those who will make laws and policies that govern how we live. The legitimacy of a government is in the one that is elected. Every vote counts because voting is a powerful way to send a message to governments and politicians, so the more votes there are the more powerful the message is. Also voting is the easiest way to have a say in how your society is governed. By not voting, youths may be sending a message to politicians that young voters don't want to hear from them.

Campaign Trail

Mississauganews Elections — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:12:21 -0400

Many votes, little clout

By: The Mississauga News

October 7, 2008 - When they go to the polls next week, voters in Mississauga and Peel will be casting ballots that will have much less impact than those in some other parts of Canada.
That's because ridings in this fast-growing area have some of the highest populations anywhere across the country, so a ballot here does not have the same power as one cast in ridings such as Labrador and Saskatchewan, where ridings are much larger physically but much less densely populated.
An article published today (Oct. 6) at digitalhome.ca includes a formula that calculates the value of every Canadian vote using a formula which takes the average riding size in Canada (102,639 people) and divides it by its actual population.
The riding with the least voting power in Canada under that formula is Brampton West, which has the largest population of 170,422. That gives it a voting power of .6 (102,639 divided by 170,422).
"Compare this to the riding of Labrador with a population of 26,364 which has a voting power of 3.9 (102,639 divided by 26,634)," says the site. "In other words, a vote in the riding of Labrador has more than six times the power of a vote in Brampton West."
Five of Mississauga's six ridings are among the 30 which have the weakest voting power, using the formula which is based on population numbers from the most recent national census.
Bramalea-Gore-Malton has the fourth-weakest voting power, while Mississauga-Erindale was sixth-lowest, and Mississauga-Brampton South was eighth-lowest. Only Mississauga South did not make the "bottom" 30.
The list of the most powerful 30 ridings in Canada includes all four ridings in PEI and 11 of the 14 Saskatchewan ridings.
The Digital Homes website states that it believes that "most Canadians would be shocked and angry to hear that some ridings in Canada have less than 30,000 people in them while others have over 170,000."

Voter apathy targeted in program

By Chris Clay

October 7, 2008 - Youth are notoriously apathetic when it comes to elections.
Not all, mind you. But many complain that politicians don't speak to issues that matter to them and you often hear there's a large disconnect between elected officials and youth.
Mississauga producers Alan So and Vince Kesavamoorthy hope to get many youth engaged in the Oct. 14 federal election and dispel a few myths about them in the process through a new, half-hour television special the pair produced for ichannel.
The program, The What Is: Election '08, will air on Saturday, Oct. 11 and Sunday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
"With regards to the youth and the election, politicians don't talk about the issues that affect us," So told The News. "During this election, the only context that has been given to the youth is how we are apathetic towards the whole electoral process. With the apathy issue, the media paints us as lazy and unable to get out and vote. It's not like Generation Y needs voting stations situated outside dorm rooms or made available online. The real problem with young voter apathy is the lack of approach that politicians take to get us interested in their platforms. The overall goal of the show is to clarify this issue of apathy and get some discussion on how to remedy this."
The program will include a satirical sketch, a man-on-the-street segment and a roundtable panel discussion. It's written and hosted by comedian and filmmaker Dan Speerin, who adds his satirical perspective on issues that matter to Generation Y.
Marc Chalifoux, executive director of the Dominion Institute, will appear on the panel discussion as will Mississauga-Brampton South MP Navdeep Bains. The local MP also serves as the Youth Caucus Liaison for the Liberal Party of Canada.
Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis, a Conservative, will also join the program.
The decision to film the show comes on the heels of an online survey conducted last month by the Dominion Institute that found 30 per cent of voters aged 18-25 said they weren't informed enough to cast a vote while another 11 per cent said they don't care enough to vote.
For more information, visit www.ichannel.ca.

cclay@mississauga.net

Buzz rakes PM over the coals

By: Radhika Panjwani

September 23, 2008 03:10 PM - Ottawa's short-sighted attitude towards the Canadian manufacturing industry is partly responsible for the country's economic woes, says Buzz Hargrove, one of Canada's best-known union leaders who retired this month after being at the helm of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) the past 16 years.

The Mississauga resident said Canada has to break away from its squeaky clean “cub scout” image if it wants to take on countries with protectionist economic policies.