Election Workers Ordered Back to Work: CP

Election Workers Ordered Back to Work: CP

Monday, July 11, 2011 at 13:43

 

 

The Canadian Press has learned that two polling station workers in northern Saskatchewan had to be ordered back to their poll on election day in the recent federal election.

 

According to documents obtained under the Access to Information Act, two workers in the Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River riding shut down the polling station for 90 minutes to have supper.

 

The RCMP were dispatched to their home and ordered them back on the job.

 

The situation was one of 85 accounts of labour incidents in ridings across the country on May 2nd.

 

In other cases, Elections Canada had to scramble to staff dozens of polling stations when the people it hired called in sick, slept late, or quit in a huff over working conditions.

 

Meantime, a spokesman for Elections Canada says there was nothing much out of the ordinary for this year’s election.

 

John Enright says every vote carries challenges and the number of incidents documented in the Canadian Press report is in line with other years.

 

Enright wouldn’t comment on specific incidents like the one outlined in Northern Saskatchewan.

 

However, he does say it’s not often RCMP are called in to force election workers back on the job.

 

He adds there are about 100,000 people working on election day so problems are bound to occur.

 

Enright adds illness, family emergencies and personal breakdowns are some of the common reasons cited for workers failing to show up for their duties.