CARP comes out against proposed Fair Elections Act

CARP, the national seniors’ advocacy group, has come out in opposition to the Fair Elections Act, Bill C-23, put forward by the Conservative government.

Susan Eng, the organization’s vice-president of advocacy, stated its position at the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in Ottawa last week.

Major provisions of the bill include the elimination of vouching as a means of establishing eligibility at the polling booth and the requirement for more identification, having political parties select poll officials, disallowing Elections Canada from promotion of voting and diminishing that body’s ability to investigate electoral financing irregularities.

Eng said a poll of CARP members to which some 3,600 members responded showed 80 percent disapprove of the Fair Elections Act, with two-thirds opposing it in the strongest terms.

“They see it as diminishing democracy and they want it withdrawn or amended significantly,” she stated.

While the rationale for elimination of vouching, along with the use of the mailed voter identification card as ID, is to fight voter fraud, CARP members see reduced voter participation as a bigger problem than voter fraud by a factor of four to one,  63 per cent to 15 per cent.

Seventy two per cent do not think that vouching is a source of voter fraud and 75 per cent think that banning vouching will suppress voter participation.

According to the poll results, 10 per cent of CARP members have either had to have someone vouch for them when they voted (4%), or knew someone who had to be vouched (6%). One-third (34%) used the voter identification card the last time they voted.

“Given the commitment to voting from CARP members and older Canadians generally, it reasonable to suggest that CARP members themselves would be inconvenienced by the elimination of vouching and use of the voter identification cards but not disenfranchised – they would find the necessary identification to allow them to vote,” said Eng. “However, they are clearly concerned about others, especially those in seniors’ homes or long term care.”

Eng referred to a letter received by the Edmonton CARP chapter from a woman on behalf of her 97-year old mother in long term care. The mother is frail but fully capable of voting and did so regularly with the home’s workers vouching for her.

She no longer has a driver’s licence, the Alberta Health card does not have her address and her daughter handles all her banking and other needs so all her mail goes to her daughter. To be able to vote, she now has to ask the home to issue an attestation of residence document for her, which will also be necessary for every other resident of the Home wishing to vote.

“The option of vouching in such a case has the obvious advantage of leaving little to no opportunity for fraud, especially as many nursing homes and seniors’ residences have a polling station right in the building,” Eng said.

CARP is recommending that vouching be reinstated and the use of voter identification cards be made permanent. Having well trained and non-partisan polling officials will protect against irregularities.

CARP is also recommending restoration of Elections Canada’s mandate to make the electoral process better known to the public, particularly to those persons and groups most likely to experience difficulties in exercising their democratic rights.

We recommend that this mandate be restored. 

Another recommendation are that “robocall” political telephone marketing companies be required to keep records of the script and to whom the robocalls were directed for five years, not just one year as in the current bill

In addition, the group wants all election officers to be appointed based on merit and not be nominated by candidates, electoral district associations or parties.

“CARP members are avid voters and clearly see this bill as detrimental to voter participation, detrimental to a fair and transparent electoral process and to democracy itself,” declared Eng. “As such, we believe that at a minimum, the bill should be amended to reverse the provisions highlighted above. Otherwise, Bill C-23 should be withdrawn.”

Susan Eng will be the guest speaker at the CARP Edmonton Chapter annual general meeting on May 2 at the Norwood Legion. Non-members are welcome. For further information call 780-450-4802 or email carp.edmonton@gmail.com.

Seniors in Laval, Quebec to ride transit free

Seniors in the Quebec city of Laval will enjoy free public transit as of May 1.

Mayor Marc Demers announced the new Horizon 65+ measure for Laval residents 65 years of age and older at the beginning of April.

Laval is providing free transit for residents 65 and older.

Located on Île Jésus, just north of Montreal, Laval is the 13^th largest city in Canada with a population of more than 400,000. Seniors make up more 15.6 per cent of the population according to the 2011 Canadian census.

Provision of free transport by the Société de transport de Laval (STL) dovetails with the city's recent positioning as a Senior Friendly City (Municipalité amie des aînés), stated Demers.

"We estimate that approximately 2,300 seniors in Laval currently benefit from reduced fares with the STL,” he said. “In addition to giving them a little more financial leeway, this measure will also help our seniors to be more mobile and independent. It's also a step forward in ensuring equality between individuals and generations."

To ride free seniors need an OPUS electronic transit card, which will be loaded with a fare that is valid throughout the entire STL network. The OPUS card costs $15 and is valid for seven years.

"We are doing everything we can to facilitate access,” said STL general manager Guy Picard. “Seniors will be able to go to various locations on selected days in April to have their photo taken and to obtain their cards. Seniors who already have an OPUS card are simply required to present themselves at one of the specified locations to have their cards encoded for the free fares."

The measure is expected to cost $600,000 per year.

Driver testing challenged on human rights grounds

The issue of whether mandatory testing violates the rights of elderly drivers is to be addressed in an Ontario courtroom.

Kenneth MacLennan of Cornwall launched a court challenge against the Ontario Ministry of Transport last September.

MacLennan claims the testing Ontario drivers aged 80 and over must undergo under the province’s Highway Traffic Act is discriminatory on the basis of age, a human rights violation.

"My case is basically this, when the government requires a person 80 and over to pass the test, they effectively violate me under the Ontario Human Rights Code," MacLennan told the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder at the time of the initial court hearing.

MacLennan believes the testing legislation relies on suspect evidence that suggests drivers over 80 are more likely to cause accidents.

According to information from the Elder Advocates of Alberta, a further hearing of MacLennan’s case before the Ontario Superior Court in Ottawa is scheduled for April 7.

In Alberta, Elder Advocates has been concerned for some time about testing of older drivers that the organization considers unfair and discriminatory.

At age 75, drivers must have a physical exam. Another is required at 80, and every two years after that.

In addition to the basic exam, doctors may also require cognitive testing using the Simard MD test and refer drivers for a DriveAble computer simulation driving test, which is administered by a private company and costs $250 plus GST. Failing these tests may lead to drivers being unable to renew their licenses.

Elder Advocates is skeptical about the tests’ fairness and accuracy.

“Please be aware, according to Alberta statistics, seniors are the safest drivers on Alberta roads,” the group stated in a letter to Wayne Drysdale, Alberta transportation minister. “It is well known they have the lowest casualty rates, they are not causing the often carnage on Alberta roads.

“Obviously, there is no justification for this testing. We are being abused by this protocol, our rights are being violated. We are respectfully asking to have this protocol put to an end.”

In a further letter, the group queried Drysdale about statements made at a March 12 seniors driving information session in St. Albert. Speaker Bonnie Dobbs said all doctors will soon be electronically hooked to Alberta Transportation Driver Fitness and Monitoring. This would prevent “doctor shopping” to avoid Simard MD testing.

“Please advise us of the intent of this protocol and the attending cost to taxpayers,” the letter stated. “Some seniors are suffering total neglect in long term care facilities, skin rotting and blackening on their bodies resulting in deadly septicemia as became recently public in Calgary.  However your government is concerning itself and spending scarce resources and effort to unfairly target, destabilize and humiliate independent, functioning Alberta citizens.”