Are you voting for the first time in a federal election? In order to vote you have to be registered with Elections Canada. How do you get registered? One option is to register online at the Elections Canada website by October 13th with a driver’s licence or a BC identification card. This works only if your street address is the same as your mailing address.

New Elections Act – Bill C23

The Harper government passed the “Fair Elections Act” which further restricts rural residents from voting. The government wanted to ban vouching altogether, now vouching is limited to just one person. People are required to be registered to vote under a civic address.  This affects mostly rural people whose mailing address differs from their civic ones such as people on the move, students, First Nations people and rural politicians(!).

If you are in a senior’s home, student residence, or on a reserve, for example, you need to fill out the Letter of Confirmation of Residence form.

To find out if you are registered to vote call Elections Canada at 1-800-463-6868 or visit their office.

Courtney-Alberni riding:
4805 Mar Street
Port Alberni
(open 7 days a week. Call 1-866-499-8028)

160 Corfield Street, Suite 6
Parksville
(open 7 days a week. Call 1-866-234-3586)

3175 Cliffe Avenue, Suite 101
Courtenay
(open 7 days a week. Call 1-866-714-9652)

Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding:
1111 Dufferin Crescent
Nanaimo
(open 7 days a week. call 1-866-545-0624)

Register and Vote at Advanced Polling Station

You can register and vote at the same time at one of the advanced polling stations starting next week.

Friday, October 9, 2015
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Monday, October 12, 2015

The big Voting Day is Monday October 19th.

Voter Information Card

If you received a voter information card with your name and address, you are registered to vote in the federal election. BUT you can’t use your voter information card to vote! You need to show either one of the following:

•your driver’s licence
•your provincial or territorial ID card
•any other government card with your photo, name and current address

If you have a passport, you need to show a second piece of ID. For a detailed list, see the Elections Canada ID to vote page.

A resident of Cortes Island recently received a voter information card in the mail which directed him to vote at Refuge Cove on remote West Redonda Island with no public ferry service — a difficult proposition for a man who doesn’t own a boat. How is that accessible for handicapped people? He was told the only other option was to vote at Bella Bella, over 300 km away. Yet, in the previous federal election there was a polling station on Cortes.

Vouching

If your ID does not have your current address, you have to take an oath and show two pieces of ID with your name and have someone who knows you attest to your address. The person must show proof of identity and address, and be registered in the same polling division, and attest for only one person.

Candidates in your riding

Nanaimo-Ladysmith Candidates:
Jack  East   Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada  (416) 253-4475
Mark Allen  MacDonald  Conservative Party of Canada  (250) 729-6133
Sheila  Malcolmson New Democratic Party  (250) 591-9990
Paul  Manly  Green Party of Canada  (250) 591-9222
Tim  Tessier  Liberal Party of Canada  (250) 758-8577

Courtney-Alberni Candidates:
Barbara  Biley Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada  (416) 253-4475
John  Duncan Conservative Party of Canada  (250) 586-1161
Gord  Johns  New Democratic Party  (778) 427-6010
Carrie  Powell-Davidson Liberal Party of Canada  (250) 586-1915
Glenn  Sollitt Green Party of Canada  (250) 240-4934