Elections anticipated on September 20th
(Courtesy of CBC News)
Canadians are expected to head to the polls on Sept. 20 in a federal vote that could be overshadowed by a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Experts say it’s possible to conduct a federal election safely across the country, provided Elections Canada has enough time to develop health and safety rules for polling stations and pays attention to public health restrictions.
Fahad Razak, an internal medicine physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and a member of Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table, says it will involve case-by-case decisions that depend on location, riding, and public health restrictions in the particular community. He raised the question of increased mail in ballots.
Questions about safety in polling stations and campaign events across Canada arose as soon as news broke Thursday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to call a snap election within days. Trudeau is planning to visit Rideau Hall on Sunday to ask that Parliament be dissolved, said sources with knowledge of his plans who spoke to CBC News on the condition they not be named. The vote is said to be scheduled for Sept. 20.
On that day, poll workers will have to feel confident in their own safety, and so do voters lining up in polling stations where the vaccinated will almost certainly be mixing with the unvaccinated, Razak notes.
Patricia is the Business Mentor and owner of Grow Vantage and a Past President of the Barrie Chamber of Commerce. She applies over 30 years of business experience (from start-up to corporate) to mentor entrepreneurs. Since 2011, she has held over 6,500 coaching and training sessions in-person and online. Through Ask For Directions Training, her entrepreneurial training program (and parent company Grow Vantage), and as a business coach, she works with start-ups who are new (or who have lost traction) to design, launch and grow their businesses. Along with 20 other expert instructors she teaches strategies in marketing, sales, communications, and finance, as well as practical techniques to increase productivity, and manage their businesses. In other words, everything entrepreneurs need to learn to grow and run their businesses successfully, and avoid the costly mistakes they can't even see coming - that lead to delays in growth and getting stuck.
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