The Canada Post strike is wreaking havoc on municipal elections across the country. Officials in Quebec, Calgary, St. John’s and Yukon are scrambling to keep voters informed and ensure the integrity of their respective elections.
The most pressing issue in all affected parts of the country centres on voter notices. In Quebec, there are two, the first informing voters if they are registered to vote and the second telling them where their polling station is. Both are sent out, one after the other, in early October.
“We understand there is a strike,”
Municipal Affairs Minister Geneviève
Guilbault told the
. “But voter participation in an election — no matter at which level of government — should be a … priority.”
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers declared a nationwide strike on Sept. 25. The move came after the federal government announced changes to mail delivery in the country, including ending door-to-door delivery for most households. It is CUPW’s second strike in less than a year.
Guillaume Tremblay, president of the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ), shares Guilbault’s concerns. Delivery of the registration notices is crucial, says Tremblay, also highlighting a concern for seniors living in long-term care homes who need the information telling them when and where they can vote.
He suggests that it should be considered an essential service. Canada Post is already ensuring that social-assistance cheques continue to be delivered, he notes.
In Calgary, the municipal election is less than a month away. The delivery of voter information cards from
had just begun when the strike was called. Elections Calgary said it’s working with Canada Post to assess which addresses didn’t receive a card.
What about using couriers to distribute election documents?
When asked whether using a
would be an option, the UMQ’s Tremblay responded it would be “excessively expensive.”
Elections Calgary has decided it will send mail-in packages via courier to anyone who requests one before Oct. 3. However, voters will have to pay for a courier to return their votes. Mail-in ballots can also be submitted in-person to Elections Calgary.
In Yukon, chief electoral officer Maxwell Harvey says hundreds of special ballots will probably be sent via courier to voters outside the territory. A return courier envelope, paid for by Elections Yukon, will be included.
Elections Yukon is considering its options for distribution of voter information cards. Couriers only ship mail to major centres, says Harvey, and that creates a challenge for sending documents to small communities throughout the territory. Harvey said his office is in talks with the territorial government about using its internal mailing system to reach people outside Whitehorse. Meanwhile, his agency is aiming to drop off information at places such as community centres and schools, as well as provide it to candidates to distribute while on the campaign trail.
While voters can be reached online,
Acadia University political science professor Alex Marland
told CBC that online communication should not be seen as a replacement for physical campaign materials such as election signs and flyers. They can serve as a reminder to cast a vote but are also more likely to guarantee that voters see election information.
Will the strike affect mail-in voting?
The strike will complicate
, say Calgary election officials.
Calgary voters have been able to request mail-in ballot packages since late August.
Elections Calgary will send mail-in packages via courier to anyone who requests one before Oct. 3. However, voters need to pay for return couriers.
Any requests after this Friday must be picked up in person. Mail-in ballots can be submitted in-person at the Elections Calgary office.
Calgary intends to launch a system to track the status of ballots that were mailed out. Voters can verify if they have received a ballot by phone or email. If they haven’t, the alternatives will be to request a replacement ballot or vote in person.
In
a small group of postal workers spent part of Monday working to retrieve mail-in kits that are stuck in the postal system. Mike McDonald, CUPW Local 126 president, said workers wanted to respect the right to vote and the responsibility they have to help exercising it.
Meanwhile, the city says around 16,000 ballots have been returned by mail or secure drop boxes so far, about half of what was returned in the previous general election.
What about changing the date of an election?
St. John’s is trying to cope with the postal strike challenge by moving its municipal election to Oct. 8. The election was originally set for this week. (The strike is also affecting a provincial election set for Oct. 14.)
“This disruption has required us to act quickly and carefully to ensure … every resident … exercises (their) right to vote,” Theresa Walsh, the city’s clerk and chief returning officer, told the CBC earlier this week.
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