Election notes

Compiled by Adam Daff

Elections Canada decided last week that it would allow election results from parts of the country where polls have closed to be reported while the polls are still open in other time zones.

The ruling means that voters in B.C. will be able to see who Canadians in the eastern provinces are voting for before they cast their vote.

Chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley said the ruling would only be in place for this election because Elections Canada is appealing the decision by the B.C. Supreme Court that ruled against blacking out the reporting of information.

Conservative MP Chuck Strahl, campaigning in Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon, said he did not think Election Canada’s decision would have much of an impact on B.C. voters.

"You know, people have got bigger brains than a lot of these bureaucrats think and you can get the results on the Internet anyway," said Strahl.

"I don’t think British Columbians sit at the dinner table and say ‘lets see how they’re voting in Newfoundland’ and then decide if they’re going to vote the same way."

Simons attempts Pied Piper routine

West Vancouver Sunshine Coast candidate Nicholas Simons has not spent much time in Squamish or Whistler during this campaign but he intends to rectify that in quite an original way come June 20.

During a brief visit to Whistler last week Simons decided the best way to have Whistlerites shares their views with him was to play for them.

Simons comes from a big family of musicians.

His father is a voice professor and a singer, one of his brothers plays the clarinet, two of his sisters play the violin, another brother is an expert on the French horn and Simons is a cellist.

So this Sunday at the Second Cup café, Simons will play his cello and answer political questions.

Greens getting confident

The Green Party’s West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast candidate, Andrea Goldsmith, called Pique Newsmagazine last week to talk about the latest Ipsos-Reid polls, which have shown the Greens have a slim chance of winning two ridings in B.C.

The Greens have their best chance with Andrew Lewis in the Saanich-Gulf Islands district, but Goldsmith was confident West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast residents were equally pleased with her.

"If we did win a seat in this election we would be the first Green Party in the world to win a seat in a winner-take-all-system rather than a proportional voting system," said Goldsmith.

If Goldsmith did win in this riding it would be one of the most stunning victories in Canadian political history because the Green Party won 2,605 votes in this riding in the 2000 election, which was 22,941 votes short of John Reynolds and the Conservatives.

Squamish debate might be televised

The Whistler Chamber of Commerce is negotiating with Whistler Cable to film the Squamish all candidates debate, on June 21 at the Sea to Sky Hotel, so all Whistler residents can watch it.

The Whistler Chamber was going to sponsor its own debate but it ran out of suitable dates.

The Squamish all-candidates debate goes from 7 to 9 p.m. Anyone in Whistler interested in attending is reminded to check for road closures.

Dates

June 18, 19, 21: Advance voting (Any Canadian citizen eligible to vote can vote now at their local Elections Canada office.)

June 18: John Reynolds hosts an "everything you want to know about politics" talk for people under 30 at his campaign office on Main Street in Whistler. Refreshments will be provided.

June 20: NDP candidate Nicholas Simons will give a musical performance at the Second Cup from 6:30 p.m. and will also answer any political questions from the audience.

June 21: Squamish Chamber of Commerce convenes a West-Vancouver Sunshine Coast all-candidates meeting at the Sea to Sky Hotel between 7 and 9 p.m..

June 22: Norm Siefken, Marijuana Party candidate in the Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding, protests from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m. outside the Chilliwack Supreme Court.

Dialogue Cafes

For West-Vancouver Sunshine Coast candidates:

Sunday, June 20 Andrea Goldsmith, Green Party: 4-5:30 p.m. Whistler Java Cafe at Summit Lodge

Monday, June 21 John Reynolds, Conservative: noon-1:30 p.m. Scotia Creek Lounge, MY Place

Monday, June 21 Nicholas Simons, New Democrat: 4-6 p.m. Upstairs at the Brewhouse

Web sites

West-Vancouver Sunshine Coast (Whistler and Squamish):

http://www.johnreynolds.ca/index.html (Conservatives) http://www.greenparty.ca/index.php?module=fatcat&fatcat%5Buser%5D=viewCategory&fatcat_id=367 (Greens)

http://www.nicholassimons.ca/ (NDP candidate)

http://www.teambc.ca/cgi-bin/home.pl (Liberals)

Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon (Pemberton and D’Arcy):

http://www.chuckstrahl.com/mp/photos/photos.html (Conservative)