Stakes high in challenge to federal vote date

JEWISH HOLIDAY

TORONTO • On election day, the most important date of this fall’s federal campaign, Chani aryeh-bain, a Conservative candidate in toronto, will not be able to open her campaign office, send emails or run the crucial getout-the-vote ground game.

“Her opponents will be busy knocking on doors, emailing people, texting them, doing whatever they can to get people to the polls,” yael Bienenstock, one of aryeh-bain’s lawyers, said in court tuesday.

“ms. Bain won’t be able to do any of that. Her entire campaign will be silent. the lights will literally be off.”

the current election date of oct. 21 falls on a Jewish holiday, although a more obscure one called shemini atzeret. nonetheless, for Canada’s estimated 75,000 orthodox Jews, it’s a significant impediment; they are to refrain from writing, travelling, using phones and pretty much anything else a busy candidate or engaged voter would want to do on election day.

aryeh-bain, running in the toronto riding of Eglinton-lawrence, and Ira Walfish, a Jewish voter in toronto, are asking the Federal Court of Canada to order the chief electoral officer to push the election date back a week.

“the stakes are high,” said Colin Feasby, representing B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish advocacy group that was granted intervener status.

“at its heart, this is a case of what it means to count in Canadian society. Holding the federal election on a date where a religious minority cannot vote by reason of their beliefs sends a message to that community that it does not count,” Feasby said.

Elections Canada was accused in court of dismissing voting rights to save money, reduce workload and to retain its arrangements with schools and school boards that host many of the election day polling stations.

despite letters of complaint and requests from Jewish organizations, voters and three members of Parliament from both the liberal and Conservative parties, chief electoral officer stéphane Perrault has declined to change the date.

lawyers for Elections Canada dismissed accusations that the concerns of Jewish voters have been ignored or that the decision to keep the election date was made without regard to the Charter rights of voters.

the concern “didn’t fall on deaf ears,” said Ewa Krajewska, a lawyer for Elections Canada.

“He is being mindful and put a plan in place to protect those Charter rights. He is taking active steps to mitigate the risks.” Instead, she said, Perrault is working with the Jewish community to inform voters of alternatives to election day voting, such as the use of special ballots.