25 signatures reached
To: Canadian Faculty Associations and Individual Professors/Instructors
E-Day Pledge to Cancel Post-Secondary Classes
We are writing to you with grave concern about Elections Canada’s announcement to not host voting booths on campuses. We understand this was a pilot program for several election cycles and had recently been made a permanent program. It is a service students have come to rely on in order to participate fairly in our nation's most important democratic process.
Given the proximity of the election and the fact that Elections Canada has not responded to the public outcry we are reaching out to you for leadership asking that you support students in getting them to the ballot boxes. The most effective way to support students would be to cancel class on e-day or at least not penalize students for absenteeism on September 20th.
Given the proximity of the election and the fact that Elections Canada has not responded to the public outcry we are reaching out to you for leadership asking that you support students in getting them to the ballot boxes. The most effective way to support students would be to cancel class on e-day or at least not penalize students for absenteeism on September 20th.
Why is this important?
As a non partisan organization the DSC Campus Organizing Committee sees the decision by Elections Canada as a violation of student rights and freedoms and could even be considered a tactic of voter suppression. We know that students experience increased barriers to voting than the general public including; access to transportation, housing precariousness (making where to vote and how to vote more confusing), and less time to vote due to the constraints of both working and going to school.
Furthermore we know that these barriers have been exacerbated by the pandemic and the timing of the election being so close to when students are in transition and settling into new routines. We also know this is a crucial election in Canada’s ability to respond in a timely and effective manner to a number of crises that will have a lasting effect on this generation of students including but not limited to; climate, housing affordability, and wealth inequality. Anything that can be done to encourage students to vote will be a good thing for our democracy. We hope you agree!
Furthermore we know that these barriers have been exacerbated by the pandemic and the timing of the election being so close to when students are in transition and settling into new routines. We also know this is a crucial election in Canada’s ability to respond in a timely and effective manner to a number of crises that will have a lasting effect on this generation of students including but not limited to; climate, housing affordability, and wealth inequality. Anything that can be done to encourage students to vote will be a good thing for our democracy. We hope you agree!