Canada: voter I.D. bill passes Commons
Nunatsiaq News reports: When residents of Nunavut and Nunavik next head to the polls to cast ballots in a federal election, they will have to produce photo identification.
That’s a change brought in by Bill C-31, An Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act and the Public Service Employment Act, which passed in the House of Commons on Feb. 6.
Only members of the NDP caucus voted against the bill.
If residents don’t have photo ID, they will still be able to vote if they swear an oath, and have another resident, with photo ID, vouch for them as well.
Dennis Bevington, MP for the Western Arctic, warned in a press release that the bill may discourage residents across Canada’s North, who often don’t possess photo ID, from voting. -- Nunatsiaq News