Elections Canada says ‘confusion’ between their staff and three First Nation communities in the Kenora area lead to 1,600 community members not being able to vote on the night of the 2021 federal election.
On September 22, Senator hopeful for northwestern Ontario, Tania Cameron, reported that members of Pikangikum First Nation, Cat Lake First Nation and Poplar Hill First Nation were not able to vote as all three communities did not host polling stations – representing 1,600 eligible voters.
“Any time an elector misses their opportunity to vote, it is something we take seriously –something we take personally – and we’re working to ensure this doesn’t happen again. We must complete a thorough review of all the facts about what happened in Kenora,” said Elections Canada.
In a prepared 1,200 word statement, Elections Canada apologized to any elector who was unable to vote as a result of these issues, and they’re continuing to investigate the situation, both in the Kenora area and across the country.
“Arrangements were made that, despite the intention to serve these communities well and address their specific needs, clearly fell short of doing so. We apologize to any elector who was unable to vote as a result.”
“At this point, we are continuing our work to determine exactly what happened in these three communities, going back even before the election was called. We are taking a look at how discussions unfolded and decisions were made.”
Elections Canada explains that in general, returning officers worked with Indigenous communities to determine the best options to vote in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic over the summer.
In the area, Elections Canada says the returning officer made plans to provide 43 First Nation polling locations on election day, as well as three advance polling locations. Elections Canada had planned to host an on-site election day poll in all three affected communities, but no on-site advance polls.
However, in early September, Elections Canada says they were told that most community members would be unable to vote at election day polls on September 20. Elections Canada did not say who provided them with this information.
Due to this, they say the returning officer then told community members to vote by mail, if they couldn’t vote on election day. The returning officer then took the decision, which was authorized by Elections Canada, to run a one-day advance poll in all three communities on September 13.
The one-day polls on September 13 were approved by local leadership in all three communities, and a decision to cancel voting services on September 20 was made at the local level.
However, due to the timing of the decision, Elections Canada could not update their Voter Information Cards on time, as they were already mailed out, and several electors were unaware that their in-person poll had been moved to September 13.
“Upon learning that the communities would face difficulties with the poll on election day, the returning officer made alternate arrangements. We know that it wasn’t enough, and that communication with electors was not adequate. We are still working to get a complete picture of what happened,” adds Elections Canada.
As well, voter cards for those in a number of northern Ontario First Nation community members had incorrect information about the location of polling stations.
Elections Canada says it can be difficult sorting through the plethora of information in the National Register of Electors, which are used to generate Voter Information Cards, and residents were associated with different communities, leading them to being geocoded to different polling areas.