Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie, left, and CAO John Enns-Wind shown during council’s meeting Monday. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Time to vote

Town moves council meeting so everyone can vote in federal election

Sep 17, 2019 | 9:07 AM

Battleford residents won’t have an excuse not to vote in the upcoming election.

Lawmakers agreed to change town council’s meeting to Tuesday, Oct. 22 instead of Monday, Oct. 21 – the date of the federal election – so everyone is able to vote.

“We don’t want to put ourselves in a position where an employee was busy all-day long, was not able to vote and then because of council [meeting] they do not have their constitutional right to vote,” Mayor Ames Leslie said.

As a result, council approved a resolution to move the meeting to the next day instead, to allow people plenty of time to get out and vote.

Leslie said many people would likely want to show their support to the candidates and political parties they favour.

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CAO John Enns-Wind said in his report the date of the original scheduled meeting created a conflict as council and administration may be challenged to try to vote and attend the meeting at the same time.

The conflict arises as employees are entitled to three consecutive hours to be able to cast their vote on polling day, according to the Canada Elections Act. If their hours of work do not allow for this, then their employer must allow the time needed to provide for these three hours. The act also indicates that no employer can deduct an employee’s pay for the time that the employer allows for voting.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow