About 70 Greater Victoria residents stopped by Victoria MP Murray Rankin's office Tuesday to deliver a petition opposing the Conservative government's Fair Elections Act.
Members from the Canadian Federation of Students, the Council of Canadians and LeadNow.ca collected more than 82,000 signatures – about 20,000 from B.C. – from people rejecting Bill C-23, which critics have dubbed the "Unfair Elections Act."
The bill has been widely criticized both in Canada and internationally for making voting more difficult, most acutely by its proposal to remove the ability for voters to "vouch" for a relative or friend who fails to produce government ID at polling stations.
The bill also suppresses the ability of Elections Canada to publicly report on election fraud and to promote voting through public eduction programs. If the bill passes, critics say it will also lead to U.S.-style politics with increases in election spending limits.
Similar Day of Action events took place Tuesday in Vancouver, Port Moody, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.
