PPC Don Valley West EDA Newsletter #9 (07 October 2019)

 

·         Tonight’s the night! Maxime participates in Federal Leaders’ Debate. Be sure to tune in at 7 PM Monday evening for the two-hour debate among the six major parties vying for the votes of Canadians in the Federal Election (Monday 21 October).

It was a long and hard-fought effort to get the Debate Commission to do the right thing and allow the People’s Party of Canada to participate, but justice prevailed in the end. Let’s get in front of “The Tube” tonight and enjoy Maxim’s logical, thoughtful and clear-headed comments on why the PPC represents the best choice (by far!) for Canada’s future.

·         No lawn signs in DVW. Your EDA Executive has decided to NOT employ lawn signs for this election. Although we appreciate the multiple requests we’ve received from PPC members in Don Valley West to get a sign, the tide definitely seems to be turning against these products – across all parties --- because of arguments that they are environmentally wasteful (a few weeks of use, then into the trash), in many cases unsightly (when jammed on public land), and, let it be said, not cheap to produce. We have decided to allocate our financial resources for a more effective project: a mass mailing to almost all households in DVW of a newly designed 8-1/2 x 11-inch two-sided, full-color flyer that specifically introduces our candidate, Ian Prittie, and also nicely summarizes (on the back) the key points of the PPC’s platform. (See next item.)

 

·         Please help us track the delivery of the flyer initiative! The abovementioned flyer should begin distribution later this week (by Thursday 10 Oct, although the full delivery will take several days). When you get yours – probably in with a few other flyers, in the normal manner, and delivered separately from Canada Post – can you please send a quick e-mail to our EDA Secretary [email protected]  to confirm it arrived, and on what day? That will be very helpful!

 

·         Consider going to Advance Polls to vote. There are 49 polling places across Don Valley West, and they’ll all get A LOT of business on Monday 21 October. If you want to avoid the rush – and the possibility of any last-minute glitches in your personal life/schedule that might even not allow you to get out on Election Day – please consider going to one of the eleven Advance Poll locations (distributed evenly across the riding) to vote between 9 AM and 9 PM on either Friday 11 Oct, Saturday 12 Oct, Sunday 13 Oct, or Monday 14 Oct (yes – you can vote on Thanksgiving Day!).

 

The oblong (11.5 x 23 cm) cardstock ”Voter Information Card” that we all should have received in the mail by now -- and which you must take to the polling station to be able to vote – specifies on the back side not only where your voting location for 21 October, but also the (usually different) location designated for you if you want to go to an Advance Poll. Check it out, and let’s get those votes cast ASAP!

 

·         We need scrutineers for Election Day! Each party can have a maximum of two scrutineers visiting any given polling place on Election Day, to ensure things are running properly. There are specific things that a scrutineer can do, and specific things they CANNOT do. (Right off the top, NO campaign buttons, party-logo clothing, literature, etc., can be worn or carried, and you cannot even wear “party colors” in your basic clothing – although not many of us have clothing in “PPC purple” hanging in our closets, one presumes. Bottom line: Elections Canada would prefer to see clothing choices that do not reflect the specific “party colors” of ANY party.)

To get more information on a scrutineer’s responsibilities, and to indicate which polling place you would be willing to work at – it does NOT have to be for the entire 12 hours that the poll is open, although it is important to be there when they CLOSE at 9 PM, to watch the vote-counting process -- please e-mail our Secretary [email protected].

·         How will we do? In the opinion of your Newsletter Editor, the critical takeaway from the election results is what percentage of the overall nation-wide popular vote that the PPC attracts. Current professional opinion polls have us at anywhere from 2.5% to 5%, but that will quite likely rise after Maxime’s performance in tonight’s English-language debate and the French-language one on Thursday 10 Oct. Just to look back at the historical record of another party, here’s how the Green Party of Canada did in their early years of existence:

The Greens were formed in 1983, and their first federal election was in 1984. There, they ran in just 60 ridings, and got 26,921 votes (0.21%). In the 1988 election they ran in 68 ridings and got 47,228 votes (0.36%). In 1993, it was 79 ridings and 32,979 votes (0.24%), in 1997 they again ran in just 79 ridings, and got 55,583 votes (0.43%). It wasn’t until the 2004 election that they ran in all ridings (308 at the time), and got 582,247 votes (4.29% of the national total).

Now, take a moment to reflect on the truly impressive accomplishments of our People’s Party of Canada in just one year: 315 confirmed candidates (93.2% of all ridings)…something that basically took the Greens twenty years to achieve! Let’s ALL make a final push to get our family, friends and co-workers to take a close look at the PPC before they cast their ballot…and feel free to photocopy that flyer that will be coming to you to help in that effort!

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