National Post (National Edition)
Why Elections Canada should be moving the voting date
There is a maxim that says “A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.” This is true because one can cause more harm than good when not in possession of all the facts.
Marni Soupcoff’s article on why the election date should not be changed whipped up unnecessary anti-religious sentiment, which is most unfortunate in the times we live in. The factum filed on our behalf has been a matter of public record for over two weeks. It is a shame Soupcoff did not get a handle on the facts before penning her article, but let me clarify a few points.
Ira Walfish (my co-applicant) and I did not wake up one morning and decide to have the federal election date changed because we deserve special treatment. Rather we realized Oct. 21 presented a serious conflict and immediately contacted Elections Canada to let them know and request the election be moved to Oct. 28. Our request was based on three things: the Canada Elections Act, precedent in Ontario in 2007 and the Quebec election of 2018.
The Elections Act states in Section 56.2 (1) that if a fixed election date falls on a day of “cultural or religious significance” the chief electoral officer may recommend to move the election to the following Monday.
Parliament must have recognized that on rare occasions the Jewish observance of Shemini Atzeret would coincide with election day — there is no other date of religious significance that could make voting a challenge at this point in October. Therefore, this clause was inserted in order not to cause a conflict. Parliament wanted to ensure that all Canadians can exercise their democratic franchise on election day.
Why not vote in advance polls? They, too are problematic this year
because the dates for advance voting fall on the Sabbath, the holiday of Sukkot and the eve of the holiday of Sukkot. (Would you have the time to vote on Christmas Eve?)
This isn’t the first time that this has happened. In 2007, the Ontario provincial election fell on Shemini Atzeret. The Ontario chief elections officer and then-premier Dalton McGuinty moved the date. No harm done.
The Quebec Election of 2018 provides the opposite example. The problem was the same — election day fell on Shemini Atzeret. But this time the date wasn’t moved. The result? Voter turnout in D’arcy McGee (a riding with a large Orthodox Jewish population) plummeted from 72 per cent to 47 per cent. That’s a full quarter of the eligible population.
Moreover, there is the issue of the Orthodox candidates. For the first time there are two Orthodox Jewish candidates running for election: myself in Eglinton-Lawrence and David Tordjman in Mount Royal.
Most people would agree that the playing field must be level in order to have a fair race. But how can there be fair races if David and I cannot participate in normal Election Day activities of getting out the vote? Observant Jews make up 20 per cent of our ridings. What about the other 80% per cent? How do we look after them on Election Day?
I have heard suggestions that we should send secular Jews or non-Jews in my place to help get out the vote. Under Jewish law I cannot ask a secular Jew to desecrate the holy day on my behalf and I cannot ask a non-Jew to perform tasks that I am forbidden from performing on the holy day.
Current Liberal MPs Michael Levitt and Marco Mendicino have also asked that the election date be moved. This is a bipartisan effort.
Chief Elections Offi c e r Stéphane Perrault’s primary concern in moving the election was the quality of the election. Would he be able to secure enough polling places for the following week? Would he have enough time to put on a fair election?
When a prime minister calls a snap election to be held in 35 days, is there a problem putting on a fair election? History has shown that snap elections have been administered fairly. We are still three months from this year’s federal vote. This is not an insurmountable barrier.
Finally, Soupcoff pointed out that she had never heard about Shemini Atzeret. I’d like to invite her to join me in shul (synagogue) this Shabbat. We will be reading the Torah portion that discusses Shemini Atzeret.
National Post
WE ARE STILL THREE MONTHS FROM THIS YEAR’S FEDERAL VOTE.