The polling station erected in the Scout area of the Saint-Louis-de-France sector, in Trois-Rivieres, has been the subject of heavy criticism. Elections Canada confirms that it has received complaints. Many voters were upset when they arrived at this office on Monday. Some, realizing the wait, simply returned.
The road to the room rented by Elections Canada is strewn with gravel, the number one obstacle for people with limited mobility. Voters had to park their cars in a grassy area and walk across the gravel to the queue.
Some have also complained to Elections Canada about the lack of external lighting. They say they must have lined up in complete darkness or even darkness with their young children.
I found it strange that she was in the middle of the woods. Not everyone knows where the Scout field is. Especially in this corner there is a problem with the broken road. Not easily accessible
, confirmed a citizen met by our team.
Due to the small number of available parking spaces, the line of cars sometimes exceeded one kilometer, according to Elections Canada. An unwelcome situation, but the returning officer in St Maurice Champlain’s ride, Dominique Amioux, thought it would have been difficult to do better under the circumstances. The room normally used for voting was not available.
We had 14 polling columns there. Elsewhere, it was not suitable as there was not enough space to ensure a safe distance. Some buildings were not available because they were already in use for a vaccination campaign or other events. We searched and searched and searched for places to work, but to no avail. We managed to find a scout domain. It’s a very nice place, it probably met 80% of our needs, but we had no other choice
, It is to explain.
admire his colleagues
The difficulty of renting rooms was just one hurdle among many in this election in the context of the pandemic.
Many additional health measures had to be implemented to ensure everyone’s safety. Of these, a new pencil was to be given to each of the voters and it was clear that all employees had to wear a mask.
It resulted in a lot of pull-ups, people who couldn’t wear it all day. Plexiglass in front of us, wash hands, record…Honestly, I take my hat off to all staff
He continues, saluting the resilience of his colleagues who have done essential work for Canadian democracy.
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