Canadian Expats (long term) lose the right to vote

[BC Gal 0]

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Edited September 4, 2015 by BC Gal

[Epicatt2 0]

Do you believe that there will be a further appeal of this decision, BC Gal? Or is that court Canada's highest Court sand cannot be challenged?

 

It seems to me that if the Canadian Government withholds a percentage of expats' pensions for living abroad and if they pay taxes that they should be accorded the right to vote.

 

That's my thought here, but then I'm estadounidense, not Canadian.

 

Regards,

 

Paul M.

==

[eleanorcr 0]

One point in the article says that expats could retain their right to vote by visiting Canada yearly -- was/is there some amount of time that you have to be in the country? Would this still be in effect?

 

I guess I can see both sides of the story. 1. You are a Canadian citizen and, as such, you should have the right to vote. Period. 2. By living out of the country, you have lost your connection and will have difficulty having a true understanding of the issues involved. (However, I would bet that a lot of people who actually LIVE in Canada have that problem!)

 

As a US citizen and permanent resident of Costa Rica, it was an interesting process that I went through to vote in the last Presidential election. (I do not vote in other, state or local elections.) According to the law, as an expat, you are able to vote in the last place you lived in the US. When I contacted the Registrar of Voters for that county, she said, "Sorry, you're not on our list." After several emails back and forth, I ended up contacting the Secretary of State for the State of Florida. An attorney in that office wrote to the Registrar, explaining the law, and she then registered me for that county, with my current address as the County Courthouse! lol

 

There were other things on the ballot besides the Presidential election and I did feel that I did not know much about those issues and the people running for election.

 

Also -- in the article, it says "Ontario's top court" -- which my question would be the same as Paul's -- is there a "Supreme Court" where the issue would be decided for all provinces or ??

 

It would be interesting to know how many Canadian citizens are living outside of Canada. The thing I saw was 2.8 million or 9% of the population. But I don't know if this is accurate or up to date.

[Carol Nickerson 0]

This article from Elections Canada says be 18 years age & live in Canada anytime before the election.

 

http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=reg/etr&document=index〈=e

[Addax 0]

Here is a link to the actual (lengthy) decision which includes a dissent.

http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2015/2015ONCA0536.htm

 

While not a certainty, the case will likely go to the Supreme Court of Canada - which is Canada's highest court. Stay tuned.

[costaricafinca 0]

A subject we will have to keep an eye on...