On Tuesday, May 25, 2021, Canadian Parliament held a vote on whether or not it would be irresponsible to hold federal elections during the Covid-19 Pandemic. (1)
Vote number 118 titled, “Elections During a Pandemic” claimed that, “holding an election during a pandemic would be irresponsible, and that it is the responsibility of the government to make every effort to ensure that voters are not called to the polls as long as this pandemic continues.” (2) and was voted for almost unanimously with 327 “Yea” and only 1 “Nay” vote by Independent, Mr. Derek Sloan. The wording used may also suggest that other voting methods such as postal voting may be used instead.
Other “potential legislative changes” were looked into in 2020 such as extending polls to a 3 day period to reduce crowds (3), however with this latest vote, it suggests no Federal Canadian elections will be held until it is deemed that the pandemic is over by said Government, or at the very least only mail in voting, or something similar will take its place.
-Trent Naz
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Source List -
(Img-1) Barwick, J., 2021. Photo by Josh Barwick on Unsplash. [online] Unsplash.com. Available at: <https://unsplash.com/photos/5Fw_0-fd4bs> [Accessed 31 May 2021].
(1) Ourcommons.ca. 2021. Vote Detail — 118 — Members of Parliament — House of Commons of Canada. [online] Available at: <https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/votes/43/2/118> [Accessed 31 May 2021].
(2) Ourcommons.ca. 2021. Vote Detail — 118 — Members of Parliament — House of Commons of Canada. [online] Available at: <https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/votes/43/2/118> [Accessed 31 May 2021].
(3) Elections.ca. 2021. Impact of COVID-19 — Elections Canada. [online] Available at: <https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=med&dir=cor&document=index&lang=e> [Accessed 31 May 2021].
