Quebec’s Chief Electoral Officer: plan to deal with Canada Post strike

Quebec’s Chief Electoral Officer, Jean-François Blanchet, made a special decision to allow municipalities to deliver documents other than to voters’ doorsteps for the November 2 election – due to the Canada Post strike.

“This decision is necessary in light of the interruption of postal services,” he said in a press release issued Wednesday, noting that “postal services are a key part of the electoral process.”

“In the current context, municipalities, which are responsible for organizing their elections, will have to make considerable additional efforts to find other solutions. I invite voters to be understanding and to take the time to check with their municipality to get all the information they need to exercise their right to vote,” said Blanchet.

However, this decision would not prevent municipalities from sending their documents by mail if the strike ended quickly and postal services resumed normally.

To support municipalities in this particular situation, Élections Québec is offering them various alternative measures. If they have the capacity to do so, they are encouraged to favor a solution that will ensure the delivery of two documents to voters’ doorsteps: the notice of registration on the electoral list and the reminder card.

Municipalities could use another delivery service or call on their staff or a group of volunteers, for example.

If they are unable to distribute personalized registration notices to each voter, they could distribute a non-personalized notice to each door. They should then allow voters to verify their registration on the electoral roll in person, by phone, or online.

They could also disseminate general information through posters, advertisements, and their websites. In this context, they should also offer a service allowing electors to verify their registration on the list of electors.

If municipalities with 20,000 or more residents are unable to deliver their reminder cards to voters’ doors, they must allow them to verify their polling place by telephone.

In addition, mail-in voting kits will have to be sent using a delivery service.

‘Come up with a solution’

On Tuesday, the Quebec government urged Ottawa to reach a quick agreement with the Canada Post workers’ union so that election notices can be sent to voters despite the strike, citing the “emergency context” of the municipal elections.

“It’s an extremely important tool for communication and voter mobilization in Quebec. People are used to receiving these cards, so we’re asking the federal government and the Canada Post union to come up with a solution,” said Municipal Affairs Minister Geneviève Guilbault at a press conference at the National Assembly.

For its part, the Union of Quebec Municipalities has demanded that the distribution of election notices be considered an essential postal service.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers launched a national strike last Thursday, hours after Ottawa announced the end of home mail delivery for almost all Canadian households within 10 years.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews