Trudeau won’t delay byelections, says COVID dangers may get worse
OTTAWA - The two federal byelections underway in Toronto will continue even as cases of COVID-19 soar in the city, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.
Byelections for Toronto Centre and York Centre are set for Oct. 26. Green party Leader Annamie Paul, who is running in Toronto Centre, called on Trudeau Friday to suspend the byelections on the grounds that democracy and fairness to voters are in jeopardy as the city faces its highest-ever case totals of COVID-19.
“I’m sure that any candidate running in either one of those byelections feels the same way I do, that these are just not the conditions under which you can have a free, fair and, above all, safe election,” Paul said.
Trudeau said he made the decision to call the votes now because he worried putting them off any longer could be even more dangerous. “We made a determination that moving forward quickly on these byelections was probably the safest thing to do,” he said.
He said by law he had to set the dates for both byelections within six months of the seats being vacated, which for both seats means by the end of February.
Former finance minister Bill Morneau resigned as Toronto Centre’s MP Aug. 21, and Liberal Michael Levitt stepped down as the MP for York Centre on Sept. 1.
Paul says there are low-income and racialized neighbourhoods in Toronto Centre that are among the hardest hit and asking people to participate in a byelection now is unwise. She said Trudeau’s decision not to call the byelections off for now is putting people in danger.