OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/25/14 -- A petition opposing some of the Conservative government's changes to the Elections Act with over 50,000 signatures from across Canada was presented this morning on Parliament Hill, with the support of Members of Parliament from the NDP, Liberals and the Green Party.
"There is a growing groundswell of citizens' opposition to this rush to rewrite elections laws in Canada," said Adam Shedletzky, co-founder of Leadnow.ca.
The petition calls on Members of Parliament to stop US-style voter suppression from becoming Canadian law. The proposed changes to the election law include stricter voter ID requirements that are similar to measures employed by US Republicans for their own electoral advantage.
"Canadians want to be able to participate in creating a new election law that impacts our democratic rights," said Shedletzky. "People are calling for the Conservative government to remove measures in the proposed elections law that would suppress the votes of young, Aboriginal and low-income people. Instead, they want the government to address the real threat by giving election watchdogs the power they specifically requested to investigate fraud organized by political operatives."
The petition signers have also taken their campaign to the airwaves, with hundreds donating online to pay for radio ads in the ridings of Conservative Members of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs that is beginning to study the bill.
Members of Parliament from three Opposition parties were present at the petition delivery, to signal their support for the campaign. MPs in attendance were Craig Scott, David Christopherson and Alexandrine Latendresse from the NDP, Stephane Dion and Scott Simms from the Liberal Party of Canada and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
Contacts:
Media Contacts
Leadnow.ca
Matthew Carroll
Campaigns Director
1-289-244-9930
matthew@leadnow.ca
