Elections Canada apologizes to Ontario First Nations voters unable to cast ballots
CBC
After a federal election riddled with problems for First Nations voters in northwestern Ontario's Kenora riding, Elections Canada has issued an apology "to any elector who was unable to vote as a result."
The electoral agency said it is still working to get a complete picture of what happened in Kenora and is looking into whether the problems are indicative of wider issues across Canada.
For the Sept. 20 vote, two main concerns arose in the riding, which was won by Conservative incumbent Eric Melillo:
"Any time an elector misses their opportunity to vote, it is something we take seriously — something we take personally — and we're working to ensure this doesn't happen again," said Elections Canada spokesperson Natasha Gauthier in an emailed statement.
But many people familiar with the problems this federal election in Kenora say they're waiting for concrete actions to ensure they don't happen again.
In its statement to CBC News, Elections Canada said three fly-in First Nations in Kenora riding requested advance polls because the majority of their communities would be involved in traditional hunting activities on the land on Sept. 20.
While the returning officer initially rejected the requests, something many have said should not have happened in the first place, they later reversed their decision and arranged for a one-day advance poll in each of the three First Nations on Sept. 13.
Elections Canada then decided to cancel the polling station on election day in the three First Nations "based on the understanding of the situation in the three communities," according to Gauthier.
Because the decision was made after voter cards were already issued, Gauthier said, they could not update them, and acknowledged several electors were thus unaware the in-person poll was moved.
It was a decision that also surprised Cat Lake Chief Russell Wesley.
Wesley told CBC News when he returned from the community hunt a few days after the election that he was confused when an elder approached him and said there was no election day poll.
"For the remaining [30 per cent of our community] membership that would be in the community, we expected the polls to go forth on Sept. 20," Wesley said.
While Elections Canada said it is still investigating what happened, including talking to the returning officer and the chiefs of the affected First Nations, Wesley told CBC News he hasn't heard anything from Elections Canada since before the election, and certainly nothing "that represents an apology."
Remote and isolated First Nations face unique barriers to voting, Wesley said, including the high level of movement of their citizens.