Liberals File Complaint with Elections Commissioner Over Third Party Event

By Laura Steiner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Milton Reporter

The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) has filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Elections Canada, over the use of an auditorium at one of the advance polling stations over the Easter weekend in the riding of Milton-East-Halton Hill-South.

The Liberals claim the gathering violated  section 282.2 of the Elections Act, which restricts campaigning near polling stations in order to ensure the secrecy of the vote. “Respecting the rules of our democracy and our Canadian institutions is a critical requirement for anyone seeking public office. It’s very unfortunate that this violation has occurred,” LPC candidate Kristina Tesser Derksen said.

The allegations surround an event that happened on the evening of Saturday April 19 at the Milton Seniors’ Center auditorium. A group identified as the Ontario Seniors Forum held what Elections Canada describe as a ‘religious gathering’ of approximately 300 people. On the ‘vision’ section of their website, the group is described as a non-political, non-religious, non-ethnic & non-gender biased charity organization, open for membership to seniors over the age of fifty-five. Their address is 810 Nipissing Rd. Suite 203. Their website also did not list this event. The Town of Milton confirmed the event, and one candidate attended (Gill).

The Milton Seniors’ Center was used as an advance polling location throughout the Easter long weekend. The polling station, with four different polls were held in the building’s cafeteria close to the auditorium. Voters entering the building couldn’t help passing the auditorium on their way to vote. “As soon as I was made aware of the situation, and to preserve the neutrality at the polling site, I instructed our Elections Officers to modify the route of travel to the polling site to avoid passing the auditorium,” Riding Returning Officer Marielena Lafee said. The normal travel paths were restored for the duration of advance polls.

Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) candidate for Milton East- Halton Hills South Parm Gill took the stage, and addressed the crowd where he allegedly remarked on the election, and requested support. A Conservative Party spokesperson responded to enquiries by saying Mr. Gill was invited to a forum at the seniors’ Center, and this was not his event.  Sources indicate the CPC candidate for the riding of Burlington North -Milton West Nadeem Akbar and Milton Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Zee Hamid were also in attendance.