EdinburghNLP/nunavut-hansard-plusplus huggingface dataset:
Clearly, voters themselves will have to ensure that they have mailed in their ballot or sent it with someone to the elections office in time for it to arrive prior to election day. In order to ensure the maximum period of time is able to be used for sending and receiving mail-in ballots, particularly for students out of the jurisdiction, the CEO recommended in his NWT report that he be permitted to send people "write-in" ballots until such time as regular ballots are available (i.e. a blank ballot in which the voter writes in the name of the candidate they wish to vote for).
As well, it seems that the use of the mail-in ballot is likely to be the procedure used for people to vote in the community in advance of election day, even though they may not mail the ballot, but rather give it in person to the Returning Officer.
This was the recommendation of the Elections Canada officials.
Recommendation #31: That the mail-in ballot procedure be amended so that there is no time-limit for applying for the ballot; that the deadline for receipt of mail-in ballots by the elections office or the office of the local Returning Officer be the day prior to election day; that forms for requesting mail-in ballots be readily available through the Internet and by fax; that people applying to use the mail-in ballots procedure be able to use fax machines and the Internet with appropriate protections; that the mail-in ballot itself must be an original and not received by fax or the Internet; that the instructions for use of mail-in ballots be very clear and understandable; that the reply envelope be postage-free for regular mail; and that the mail-in ballot procedure may be done in person with the Returning Officer.
Recommendation #32: That the CEO's recommendation be supported, providing that the CEO may use write-in ballots for voting by mail.
Special Mobile Voting Stations and In-Home Voting for Elders and Persons with Disabilities
A number of people raised the concern that some Elders and persons with disabilities are unable to vote if they are unable to easily leave their home on election day, particularly in mid-winter elections.
While a change in the timing of elections to the fall may help some people, others may still be unable to leave their home for reasons of physical disability.
In the past, some people have been able to use proxy voting procedures to effectively assign their right to vote to another person on their behalf.
As noted above, the Standing Committee does not support the continued use of proxy voting and wants a system in which eligible voters exercise their own vote personally.
The Committee was advised that in municipal elections, the Returning Officer is able to go to an elector's home and the Committee would like to extend this special voting opportunity to territorial elections.
In almost every community, this concern was raised and people supported the idea of voting in their own home for Elders and persons with disabilities.
A number of concerns were raised regarding the administration of this special voting opportunity with which the Standing Committee.
The Returning Officer should be accompanied by another person, likely the poll clerk, so that no inference can be made that a voter was influenced in any way.
As well, voting in one's own home would have to take place prior to election day.
Following the Standing Committee's meeting with the CEO in which questions about mobile voting stations were raised, the CEO addressed this issue in his NWT report.
He noted that a provision of the Local Authorities Elections Act allows a Returning Officer to establish a mobile voting station and that he had provided approval for the Returning Officer to transport the ballot box used at the office of the returning officer to electors who were confined to their home, hospital or care facility.
It may be that the mail-in ballot procedure would be used in voting in one’s own home, but that it would be completed with the Returning Officer and given in person to the Returning Officer at the time, to be tallied with all other mail-in ballots on polling day.
The law should be sufficiently flexible to give the Returning Officer the ability to schedule this voting opportunity to efficiently make use of the time outside of the office, transportation, etc.
The Returning Officer should be able to work with the service providers in the community and Elders' groups to identify and educate those voters who would be most likely to benefit from this voting opportunity.
One person suggested that it would be good to involve the youth in the community to help in this regard.
Recommendation #33: That the CEO's recommendation (in his NWT report) be supported that the Elections Act be amended to provide that the Returning Officer may, with the prior approval of the Chief Electoral Officer, establish a special mobile voting station for eligible electors residing at a hospital, health facility, senior citizen's home or confined to their home for medical or mobility reasons.
Recommendation #34: That Elders and persons with disabilities be permitted to vote in their own home by requesting that the Returning Officer come to their home with a mail-in ballot.
Transportation to the Polls
A related concern was that there is often no transportation for Elders and persons with disabilities to assist them in getting to the polling station.
It was suggested by some people that transportation be provided on election day.
The Standing Committee was advised that it is usually left to the candidates to help people travel to the polling station, although some municipalities may assist as well.
The Standing Committee hopes that by allowing people to vote at the office of the Returning Officer prior to election day, they will be able to vote more at their convenience when they are in the vicinity of the office.
By allowing the Returning Officer to come to the homes of Elders and persons with disabilities, this will address the needs of those who have the most difficulty with transportation needs.
However, the Standing Committee acknowledges that some communities are very spread out and may have more needs and Returning Officers may need some mechanism to assist voters, but feels this is better left up to the administration at this time.
As noted, students attending education programs outside of their community expressed concerns about not being able to vote on election day, either because they weren't enumerated earlier in their home community or because the mail-in ballot information arrived too late.
The Standing Committee hopes that the permanent voters' list will ensure that students are effectively enumerated in their home community and that the use of mail-in ballots will assist students in exercising their vote.
However, it will be very important that students know their rights and in this regard the Standing Committee notes the importance of the Department of Education in facilitating access to students, particularly after they have left for their school programs in other communities, which may be in or outside of Nunavut.
While the Committee acknowledges that information on students' addresses is personal information, we are confident that some way can be worked out to ensure that students receive information on their right to vote.
The Department should certainly know the names and addresses of students registered in their programs within Nunavut, as well as any students outside of Nunavut receiving any form of government financial assistance.
Recommendation #35: That the Department of Education, in cooperation with Elections Nunavut, examine ways in which they can support Elections Nunavut in sending information to students, while protecting their privacy rights, and ensuring that comprehensive information can be sent in a timely manner on students' right to vote in elections in Nunavut.
(vii) Polls
There were a number of recommendations in the CEO's report dealing with polls in communities.
As well, the Standing Committee heard a number of concerns from the public.
The current law provides that for every 350 voters, there must be a separate polling station and electoral list.
Multi-electoral districts in one community - Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet
The Standing Committee was advised that there was some voter confusion in communities having several electoral districts.
Iqaluit has three electoral districts and Rankin Inlet has two electoral districts.
The law currently requires that the Returning Officer must have an office in the electoral district and that the voters’ list must be posted in a central place in the poll.
In some communities, the office locations may only be in the central part of the community, making it difficult to obtain appropriate, accessible office space with telephone lines and other facilities in other parts of the community.
It was also observed that people who came to the one election office didn't always like being told that they had to go to another office to be served.
As well, people are often used to seeing election lists in the Post Office, which is usually centrally located and visited by most people daily.
If only one list was posted in the Post Office, people were sometimes confused if they didn't see their name on it, because they lived in another area of town and their list was posted elsewhere.
One former Returning Officer suggested that the lists for the whole community should be posted in one place and that the Returning Officers in multi-electoral districts be permitted to establish a central office.
Recommendation #36: That in multi-electoral districts, electoral lists be posted together in a central location.
Recommendation #37: That in multi-electoral districts, Returning Officers be permitted to establish a central office.
Location of Polling Stations
The Standing Committee was advised that another area of confusion related to the location of the polling stations.
The current law requires that a polling station be put in place for every 350 voters.
Again, the Standing Committee was advised that this may pose practical difficulties for some communities, but meet the needs of others.
Many communities hold their election in the community hall or a school gym.
Some communities will put one or more polls in this location, so that voters know this is where to vote, no matter which poll you are in.
Other communities will establish polling centres in other parts of the community, making it easier for people to walk to a polling station near their home.
For those communities that are very spread out, this may be very important.
The CEO's report recommended that the upper limit of 350 voters per poll be increased, in order to deal with population growth in some communities.
The Standing Committee agrees.
While it is important that the number of people in any one poll be such that there will not be long line-ups on election day, the Standing Committee hopes that advance voting opportunities will help alleviate some of this pressure.
Recommendation #38: That the maximum number of people per poll be increased to 450 people.
Recommendation #39: That the Elections Act should permit the Returning Officer, in consultation with the Chief Electoral Officer, to put all polls for an electoral district in a central polling station for Election Day or to permit the establishment of a separate polling station for a smaller number of people in order to deal with the geographic circumstances of that community.
In both Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit, the Standing Committee was advised that voters were frustrated when they went to one voting location and were advised they had to go to another voting location to vote.
This was aggravated for some people by the fact that they may have moved from one part of the community to another and, therefore, they had to face voters’ list problems and other issues as well.
Several people recommended that there should be one large voting centre in Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet for all electoral districts and that more effort be placed on assisting people to travel there from across the community.
Nevertheless, there may be a need for a separate polling station for geographically distinct areas such as Apex, in the Iqaluit area.
Recommendation #40: That the Elections Act should permit the Returning Officer, in consultation with the Chief Electoral Officer, to put all polls in a central polling station for polling day for multi-electoral districts or to permit the establishment of separate polling stations as may be required to deal with the geographic circumstances of that community.
Smaller Settlements and Camps
The CEO's report noted that since Bathurst Inlet and Umingmatok are not designated as polling divisions, the names of qualified voters living there do not appear on any official list of electors in the electoral district, prior to polling day.
These qualified voters are therefore precluded from taking advantage of other voting opportunities, such as voting by mail, as their names are not on the offical list of electors.
The CEO recommended that since each of these communities has been growing in population, they each be enumerated and designated as a polling division.
The Standing Committee is of the opinion that all voters in Nunavut, no matter how small their settlement or camp, should be enumerated and have voting opportunities, such as voting by mail, available to them.
A permanent voters’ list, as recommended by the Standing Committee, may help address some of these problems.
However, it may be that a mobile poll brought to these settlements, as done in the past, is the most effective way of obtaining their votes.
The Standing Committee is not necessarily endorsing the idea that every polling division should have resident elections staff and a polling station on polling day.
These decisions should be made by the Returning Officer in consultation with the CEO. However, the Standing Committee does believe that new technologies may make it possible to develop more innovative and cost-effective ways of enabling people to vote in the smaller settlements and camps and will want to ensure that these ideas can be explored on a trial basis.
Recommendation #41: That the CEO's recommendation be carried out, that an enumeration be conducted in the communities of Bathurst Inlet and Umingmatok and that each community be designated as a polling division.
Recommendation #42: That innovative methods of voting be able to be used in the smaller settlements and camps, on a trial basis, on recommendation by the CEO.
(viii) Candidates
Criminal Record and Academic Qualifications
During the community consultations in September, a number of concerns were expressed to the Standing Committee regarding the qualification of candidates.
The public consultations made it clear to the Standing Committee that the people of Nunavut want elected Members to be role models and to take the responsibility of leadership very seriously.
However, the comments actually made to the Committee were sometimes isolated and did not provoke much community discussion. The Standing Committee could not draw a consensus from the public meetings as to how we can reach this goal.
The Standing Committee respects the voters in Nunavut and their right to decide who will best represent their community and the Committee does not recommend any additions or changes to the qualifications of candidates in the Elections Act in terms of the presence or absence of a criminal record or academic qualification.
However, the Standing Committee believes that once a person is elected and has become a Member of the Legislative Assembly, they become responsible to uphold the Code of Conduct agreed to by all Members and if they commit a criminal offence, they should be subject to any further requirements which are laid out in the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act as to whether they are able to retain their seat or run in another election.
Recommendation #43: That no change should be made to the qualifications of candidates as outlined in the Elections Act, unless consequential amendments are required due to changes in the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act.
Residency and Age of Candidates
Several people raised the issue of residency of candidates.
Under the current law, an eligible voter can be a candidate.
Therefore, the candidate need only be a resident of Nunavut for one year.
Recommendation #44: That there be a clear requirement in the Act that candidates must be resident in Nunavut for one year, as is required to be an eligible voter in Nunavut.
In terms of age, as noted above, there was no consensus as to whether to drop the voting age for territorial elections to 16 years of age.
However, there did seem to be more of a consensus that candidates should be 18 years of age, even if the voting age was 16 years of age.
This was to ensure that students would finish their schooling.
Recommendation #45: That the minimum age for candidacy be 18 and that should the voting age be dropped to 16, that the Government of Nunavut obtain a legal opinion as to whether the age of 18 could remain the required age for candidacy.
Nomination Forms
A concern was raised about the lack of clarity on the nomination forms regarding witness’s signatures.
Recommendation #46: That nomination forms be redrafted so that it is very clear that the signature of each nominator requires a witness's signature.
(ix) Election Offences
A number of people raised concerns about specific conduct during elections, such as taking down another candidate’s signs, and asked Members if this conduct was allowed.
It is clear to the Standing Committee that most people in Nunavut do not know about election offences in the Elections Act and this may extend to many of the candidates, candidates’ officials and elections officials, as well.
The CEO's report recommended that a review be undertaken of the election offences section of the Act.
The Standing Committee did so and makes the following recommendations:
Recommendation #47: That the section on election offences in the Act be rewritten in plain language so that it is easier to understand by the public of Nunavut; that it be consolidated so that all offences are listed together, preferably in one section; that consistent wording be used to define the intent needed for an offence; and that better definitions be provided for words like "fraudulently".
The Standing Committee noted that the CEO's report lists a number of initial complaints or queries that were received by his office, but since none were followed up with written complaints, no further action was taken.
The Committee recognizes the seriousness of allegations of election offences and would want to ensure that people making allegations do take them seriously and be prepared to swear documents and to testify, if required.
At the same time, it doesn't want to discourage complaints from being made because of a perception that the investigation and complaints process is excessively technical and more of a "southern" approach.
The Committee notes that the consequences listed in the Act include incarceration up to one year and fines up to $10,000 depending on the offence.
Some concerns were expressed that by imposing this level of hardship on people, this was not consistent with Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.
However, since the Committee also felt that there need to be clear consequences for offences in order to dissuade people from this conduct, they opted to consider how Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit could help inform a new process that is more suitable for Nunavut.
The Standing Committee would prefer a more preventative approach to ensure that negative behaviour doesn't happen in the first place; a more proactive approach to intervening and repairing any harm done quickly; and a more understanding approach to consequences to ensure that a first-time offender who didn't think that they were doing wrong is treated very differently than a person who flagrantly and deliberately violates the Elections Act.
After reviewing the list of election offences, the Committee did not wish to change any of them at this time.
By and large, the offences listed in the Act relate to tampering with ballots or voters and the Committee agrees that this conduct should not be allowed.
But there are some offences that people might commit without meaning harm.
For example, a grandmother phoning a radio show on election day to promote her grandson might not realize that she may be violating the prohibition against broadcasting any speech in favour of a candidate on election day or the day prior.
Therefore, more information needs to be available to the public on what offences are in the Act and the potential consequences of breaching the election law.
There is one provision in the Act that requires a warning to be posted with the voters' list that anyone who tampers with the list commits an election offence.
The Standing Committee believes that similar warnings should be put on radio and in the community so that people are aware that tampering with another candidate’s signs or materials is an offence and that no one may speak about a candidate on radio during election day or the day prior to the election.
Recommendation #48: That the Elections Act require warnings in all languages be posted and public service announcements be put on radio regarding what conduct is an offence under the Act and the potential consequences.
Recommendation #49: That specific materials be developed for candidates and their supporters, clearly outlining what conduct is an offence under the Act and the potential consequences.
The Standing Committee met with Elections Canada officials and the Commissioner of Canada Elections.
The Commissioner of Canada Elections is the official who deals with all complaints in federal elections.
The Commissioner advised that her office is taking a new approach which is very proactive.
As soon as her office hears of a complaint, they try to investigate it as quickly as possible and once they determine that something has been done, they try to work with the parties to fashion a remedy that is appropriate to the circumstances.
For example, if someone has made a false statement about a candidate they should publicly retract it.
The Standing Committee is very supportive of this approach.
It may be of little use to a candidate to have a complaint dealt with after the election, if the damage was done prior and the candidate lost the election. Only a very few offences would result in an election being declared invalid.
Therefore, the Standing Committee would support procedures in the Elections Act allowing for a more proactive, responsive approach to resolving a complaint.
The present Elections Act would require an elections offence to be prosecuted in a court of law.
The Standing Committee is aware that many of the community justice initiatives in Nunavut may be useful precedents for a more appropriate process to handle election offences and a consideration should be made of alternatives. The Standing Committee is not sure if an additional elections staff person is required in Nunavut (such as the Commissioner at the federal level), or whether this function can be accommodated by the Chief Electoral Officer and his or her staff. This may be a matter better considered by the working group, as it will impact on the budget as well.
Recommendation #50: That the process for responding to complaints about election offences be reviewed by the working group, with a view to making it more proactive, more responsive in a timely manner, and more remedial in its consequences.
Recommendation #51: That the process for responding to complaints and prosecuting election offences be examined in light of community justice initiatives in Nunavut; and
Recommendation #52: That the following be added to the list of sanctions or consequences for committing an election offence: making a public or private apology; paying restitution for damage; receiving advice from Elders; and other community justice approaches as may be relevant to election offences.
(x) Public Education
As noted above, public education is essential if people are to fully understand their right to vote, the obligations on candidates and their workers, what conduct is permitted during an election, who to contact for assistance and other issues.