Staff at an overnight shelter in Thunder Bay, Ont., are calling on Elections Canada to make it easier for people experiencing homelessness to cast their ballots in the federal election.
Shelter House is working alongside NorWest Community Health Centres (NWCHC) in the northwestern Ontario city to help unhoused people participate in Monday’s vote.
As was the case in the Ontario election, social service organizations can sign identification confirmation letters for people who don’t have a permanent address or piece of identification. Clients can take these letters to a polling station in lieu of a voter information card.
However, while only one piece of ID was needed to vote provincially, two pieces of documentation are needed to cast a ballot in the federal election.
Anyone without a permanent address can use social benefit cheques, jail release papers or a label on a prescription container as identification, for examples.
“These things sound like they’re accommodating to an individual that’s never experienced homelessness or lived through substance use challenges, but really those are just adding insult to injury,” said Champagne Thomson, development manager at Shelter House.
A full list of accepted ID can be found on Elections Canada’s website.
In a city where at least 550 people are known to be experiencing homelessness, according to the latest point-in-time count, Thomson said she wants Elections Canada to accept one piece of ID from voters instead of two.
“It’s very challenging as someone on our side trying to get people as excited, energized out there to vote,” she said. “The reception is very different because people are automatically just being slapped in the face with barriers as opposed to opportunity.”
More than three-quarters of people known to be homeless in Thunder Bay are Indigenous, and Thomson said that also adds to the complexities of voting access.
“Now [in] the federal election, which is going to be the one that impacts Indigenous affairs the most, Indigenous people are yet again being disproportionately disenfranchised by the lack of access, the lack of accessibility,” Thomson said.
“We also look at disproportionate rates of incarceration. We look at all of these different systemic factors and realize that with this quick turnaround time, we’re not able to get ahead of it.”
CBC News received an emailed response from Richard Théoret, regional media adviser for Elections Canada, on Tuesday regarding voting barriers relating to unhoused people.
Théoret explained the process of receiving a letter of confirmation of residence from somewhere that “offers food, housing or other social services,” such as Shelter House. He said people can also use their birth certificate or health card as identification.
“You can also declare your identity and address in writing and have someone who knows you and who is assigned to your polling station vouch for you. The person vouching for you must be able to prove their identity and address. A person can vouch for only one person, except in long-term care facilities.”
Théoret acknowledged the challenges people experiencing homelessness face in voting.
“Elections Canada has community relations officers for homeless electors. The officers focus on providing information to these electors,” he said. “They can also assist and deliver presentations to the administrators and occupants of halfway houses, shelters and organizations that provide services to homeless electors. By doing so, they raise awareness about where, when and the ways to register and vote.
“Elections Canada understands that reaching homeless electors is more challenging. Along with community relations officers, we work with stakeholders from our Inspire Democracy network to spread information about the electoral process, particularly about how homeless electors can prove their identity and address.”
More information can be found on Elections Canada’s website or by calling 1-800-463-6868 toll free, he added.
More than 10 per cent of Shelter House clients voted in Ontario’s snap election at the end of February, said Thomson, many of whom said they’d never voted before.
“Clients were also just really excited that we cared enough to include their opinion,” Thomson said. “They felt that they often get excluded from these conversations.”
Shelter House worked with NWCHC to arrange transportation to polling stations on Election Day, while staff also walked people back and forth between the shelter and nearest polling station.
“We were pretty impressed with the turnout, given the fact that it was again, similar to the federal election, a pretty quick turnaround,” said Thomson.
The plan is to do something similar on Monday, with NWCHC arranging vans to shuttle people to polling stations. Thomson said she expects to do a lot of walking between Shelter House and the closest polling station that day.
On Wednesday, NWCHC is hosting a Civic Engagement Day from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. ET at 525 Simpson St. in the Talbot Room.
Attendees will receive assistance completing their voter registration, participating in a mock vote, and using the Vote Compass tool to better understand their political priorities and how they align with the major parties’ platforms.
“Having these kind of low-stakes opportunities for people to practice is really helpful, as well as just being able to understand how to navigate that system,” Thomson said.
“A lot of the times the candidates don’t necessarily engage with this population when it comes to canvassing, when it comes to sharing their platforms, and so being able to have tools that help us engage where our political priorities lie is also really helpful for people new to that political process.”
Meanwhile, a federal candidates’ meet-and-greet will be held Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. at the Waverley Library branch, where community members can learn more about the different platforms. All candidates running in the Thunder Bay—Superior North and Thunder Bay—Rainy River ridings have been invited.
CBC News has compiled a list of election promises made by Canada’s major parties. More information about local candidates in northwestern Ontario can be found here.
