The head of one of the province’s Aboriginal lobby groups says the Harper government’s new election legislation will only serve to suppress Indigenous voters.
Kim Beaudin, the president of the Aboriginal Affairs Coalition of Saskatchewan, says requiring all voters to present identification will disenfranchise a number of First Nations and Métis people from the election process.
“The number one issue here is with respect to the vouching process and I believe that it will certainly impact Aboriginal people in this country,” he says. “In addition, I also believe that it will impact some ridings in Saskatchewan.”
He says there is no measurable evidence of electoral fraud in past elections and therefore no need for the Conservatives to put the Fair Elections Act forward.
Beaudin adds in particular the new legislation could negatively impact young Aboriginal voters, many of who will not possess the proper identification to vote.
“We have for example youth that have just turned 18, a lot of them don’t have driver’s licences. We have people that are somewhat transient and because of our housing market in this province, people tend to move around, particularly youth.”
The AACS President says if the Conservatives’ Fair Elections Act passes, the organization will consider challenging the legislation in the courts and launching a human rights complaint.