Following her victory in last year’s federal election, Churchill-Keewatinook Aski MP Niki Ashton’s campaign team alleged wrongdoing on the part of election officials in the First Nations community of Fairford.
In a Nov. 19 letter to Elections Canada, Blair Hudson, Ashton’s campaign manager, identified five concerns about how the election was conducted at polling station number 90, in Fairford.
Citing documented data and information brought to the Ashton team by other individuals, Hudson alleged that:
• About 300 more people voted in Fairford than were identified on the electors’ list. “While we recognize many people living in First Nations are not registered voters, we have cause for concern that people voting were ineligible to vote in this poll.”
• A figure for votes attributed to Fairford included the advanced poll numbers for Lake St. Martin, Dauphin River and Little Saskatchewan. This “should not be the case” since those voters cast ballots in different polls in Winnipeg, and there is a discrepancy involving the number of voters.
• The NDP scrutineer in Fairford overheard an election day worker tell the local returning officer, “Be careful. The NDP is here watching.” As Hudson writes, “I am sure you will agree that this statement is cause for concern.”
• At least one person in Fairford stated that prior to walking to the booth to cast her ballot, she was encouraged to vote Liberal. This voter felt this was likely the same message given to other voters. (In an interview, Ashton clarified that the person who allegedly made the comment was an election official).
• Elections Canada representatives in Fairford were not consistent in asking for the correct ID from people. “It is feared that certain people were targeted and were told that they couldn’t vote even though they brought the right ID.”
Ashton, who defeated Liberal candidate Rebecca Chartrand by three points, said some of the allegations, if true, are serious ethical and legal breaches.
“It really is a question of ethical conduct and obviously there’s also the law in terms of the conduct of federal elections,” Ashton said.
“That kind of a statement [telling someone to vote Liberal] is entirely inappropriate and would contravene the Elections Act. This was an official. This wasn’t somebody in the polling station.
“The kinds of things that we heard happened simply can’t happen again, and obviously we hope to find out exactly what is behind this discrepancy in the numbers.
“We all trust that [the election]’s going to be done properly and people there are obviously very concerned that it wasn’t and are troubled, as are we, by some of the things that took place on that day. They’re keen to see a comprehensive review and so are we.”
Compiled from a Thompson Citizen article.
