Close X
Thursday, October 31, 2024
ADVT 
National

Eligible Voters Could Be Disenfranchised By Stricter ID Rules, Groups Say

The Canadian Press, 02 Jul, 2015 11:52 AM
    TORONTO — An advocacy group and a student organization say not allowing people to use voter identification cards as valid ID at the polls could disenfranchise tens of thousands of eligible voters in the upcoming federal election.
     
    The Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students are in court in Toronto today, seeking an interim injunction against a key provision of the Fair Elections Act.
     
    The organizations want Canada's chief electoral officer to be able to authorize voter identification cards as valid ID, a power that was taken away in the act.
     
    Some 400,000 Canadians used the voter identification cards in the 2011 election as part of a pilot project that Elections Canada wanted to expand to the whole country.
     
    The Harper government made changes to voter identification rules last year out of concern over voter fraud.
     
    Speaking for both groups, lawyer Steven Shrybman says the changes are not justified as there is no evidence of people trying to vote as someone else and will only make it more difficult for some Canadians to vote.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Air Quality Advisory Extended For Eastern Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley

    Air Quality Advisory Extended For Eastern Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley
    A Metro Vancouver statement says high concentrations of ground-level ozone are expected to persist throughout the day.

    Air Quality Advisory Extended For Eastern Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley

    Cannabis Day Protest Turns Violent In Downtown Vancouver, 2 Arrested

    Cannabis Day Protest Turns Violent In Downtown Vancouver, 2 Arrested
    VANCOUVER — The organizer of an annual marijuana protest in downtown Vancouver is blaming the city for an outbreak of violence that led to two protesters being arrested on Canada Day.

    Cannabis Day Protest Turns Violent In Downtown Vancouver, 2 Arrested

    Flash Flood Forces Evacuation Of Kamloops Homes; Reception Centre Opened

    Flash Flood Forces Evacuation Of Kamloops Homes; Reception Centre Opened
    Kamloops Fire Rescue assistant chief Curtis Bossert says the water stood about a metre deep in some areas of the trailer park on Tuesday after the rain storm hit but it was deeper in other areas.

    Flash Flood Forces Evacuation Of Kamloops Homes; Reception Centre Opened

    WestJet Passengers Describe Emergency Evacuation As Police Investigate Threat

    WestJet Passengers Describe Emergency Evacuation As Police Investigate Threat
    Police were trying to determine Tuesday if three threats to flights in one week were related as passengers from an evacuated WestJet plane described their ordeal.

    WestJet Passengers Describe Emergency Evacuation As Police Investigate Threat

    Recession Concerns Grow As GDP Falls For Fourth Consecutive Month, Warns Statistics Canada

    Recession Concerns Grow As GDP Falls For Fourth Consecutive Month, Warns Statistics Canada
    OTTAWA — Concerns about a possible recession are growing after Statistics Canada said Tuesday that the economy contracted in April, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline.

    Recession Concerns Grow As GDP Falls For Fourth Consecutive Month, Warns Statistics Canada

    Lightning Strikes Lighting Up B.C. Forests Earlier Than Usual: Fire Official

    Lightning Strikes Lighting Up B.C. Forests Earlier Than Usual: Fire Official
    Fire information officer Navi Saini says 121 of the 148 fires currently burning in B.C. were caused by lightning, and the Prince George area has been hit particularly hard.

    Lightning Strikes Lighting Up B.C. Forests Earlier Than Usual: Fire Official