Elections Canada says that during every election there are always a few people don’t get to vote due to unforeseen events such as accidents or a family crisis.
Now add COVID-19 to the mix.
Some people across Canada say that a last-minute COVID-19 diagnosis prevented them from voting, including an unvaccinated Burnaby known as M.G. who didn’t want her name used.
M.G. told me that her late diagnosis meant she couldn’t take advantage of any of the advance polling dates that ended on Sept. 14. It was also too late to receive a mail-in ballot.
“But they should still have come up with other solutions so I could vote,” said M.G. “I always vote and I’m furious that Elections Canada wasn’t able to accommodate me. That’s on them, not me.”
Well, is it though?
First off, M.G. told me that she could be vaccinated if she wanted to, but that she “chose” to not get the jab. To me, if you deliberately choose to not get vaccinated, then you shouldn’t expect the world to move to fit your decisions
And, yes, I understand that you can get COVID-19 even if you’re vaccinated, but the odds skyrocket if you choose to not to get the jab so you put yourself more at risk of losing out on certain things – like voting.
Also, for last-minute people who are sick, do you really expect Elections Canada to put their staff at any kind of risk by setting up a special voting place? M.G. suggested voting by phone but you can’t just put something like that into place for just a few people. The apparatus would have had to be in places months prior.
Elections Canada spokesperson Françoise Enguehard said in a statement there were “numerous” possibilities for people to cast their ballots ahead of election day, such as voting at an Elections Canada office, voting by mail and voting at advanced polls. Elections Canada, at the very beginning of the election period and throughout communicated on the fact that people should make a plan to vote and be strategic about when they voted, in order to avoid a last-minute situation,” she said in an email.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases in Burnaby saw close to a 20% decrease during the past week, according to newly released data.
According to Geographic Distribution of COVID-19 by Local Health Area of Case Residence, Burnaby recorded 144 new infections from Sept. 12 to 18.
From Sept. 5 to 11, 2021, there were 177 newly diagnosed cases. The new data equates to a 19% decrease.
Strain continues in B.C. hospitals, with the province's fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sloshing ever higher.
As of Sept. 22, the number of those in B.C. hospitals' intensive care units (ICUs) with COVID-19 is once again higher than at any time in the past four months, with 157 people fighting for their lives in those wards. You have to go back to May 5 to find more COVID-19 patients (161) in B.C. ICUs.
- With files from Jess Balzer
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
