Election canvassers are allowed in apartment buildings
I would like to correct an important misconception, not to say falsehood, that Mr. John A. McDonald promoted in his letter printed in the Sept. 13, edition of the Citizen. According to the Canadian Elections Act (S.C. 2000, c.9) sub section 81 (1), and I quote: ” No person who is in control of an apartment building, condominium building or gated community, may prevent a candidate or his or her representative from…canvassing between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m at the doors to the apartments, units or houses as the case may be…”
What on earth was Mr. McDonald talking about? The Canada Elections Act clearly gives the Conservative canvasser, or any other canvasser for that matter, the right to go into apartment buildings or condominiums and prohibits anyone from preventing them from doing so.
Far from being Conservative “crap” it is the law of the land. Conservatives obviously know that law and are abiding by it. They can hardly be described as “lying.” I suspect Mr. McDonald’s vitriolic hatred of all things Conservative has blinded him to the simple reality of the Elections Act.
The only time this does not apply is when (as stated in subsection 81.2) “…physical or emotional well being may be harmed as a result of permitting canvassing…” That is hardly going to happen as a result of a five minute conversation about an important upcoming election.
It’s ridiculous to present the kind of slanted and inaccurate information promoted in Mr. McDonald’s letter. He states that he was told there was a form he can submit to complain about such action. He is welcome to do so, but did the people at Elections Canada also refer him to subsection 81(1&2)? Apparently not.
It might also be good for both him and the person he spoke to, to reread. 81.1(1) if he has any other complaints. Unfortunately, his letter highlights the concerns expressed in Andrea Rondeau’s excellent Sept. 13 column entitled “Bring back civility this election.” Mr. McDonald’s rant against the Conservative party is hardly an example of the civility spoken of, the kind we all need to practice on the eve of this very important election. If you can’t win on the issues you probably can’t really win at all.
I suggest he confine himself to those issues and drop the name calling and electioneering disguised as letter writing. He will make much more headway that way. Oh, and as to the “crap” going on out there, perhaps he should include the vandalizing and burning of Conservative signs that happened across the nation in 2015. That would be an unfortunately accurate description of what is really going on.
Perry Foster
Duncan