Is London's transit so bad it's worth dissolving the governing body? Chair pushes back and says no
Some London Transit Commissioners resigned and called for new leadership this week. They say the service isn't meeting the needs of Londoners. The chair of the commission disagrees. Stephanie Marentette points to the work being done with paratransit that she says shows service improvements.
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CBC
04-05-2025
- CBC
Q&A: Why we're still counting federal election ballots by hand
When Londoners voted in the federal election on Monday, they likely noticed there wasn't an electronic tabulator when they cast their ballot. While electronic voting is used in the Ontario election and by other countries around the world, Elections Canada continues to use the simple ballot box. For insight into why votes are still counted by hand, London Morning host Andrew Brown spoke with Aleksander Essex, an associate professor of software engineering at Western University. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. Andrew Brown: So what do we know about why Elections Canada is still doing the paper ballot in the box? Aleksander Essex: Well, that's a great question for the chief electoral officer, and they have, I'm sure, their reasons. But I think one comment made in a recent CBC interview gives us some insight. They described their method of vote counting as "open to scrutiny." That means independent observers and candidate representatives can actually stand there and watch with their own eyes as the ballots are being counted. AB: A lot of us who voted in the Ontario election will remember our ballots going through a machine, and then we got the results quickly on election night. I think they called the PC government in six minutes. Why is Ontario able to pull this off? AE: Well, in fairness, Elections Canada was also able to count up the election fast enough for CBC to call it on election night. Elections Ontario moved toward tabulators for a variety of reasons, including cost and general ease of administration. One advantage is that you don't need as many people in the polling place — at least in theory. So you can do a faster vote count. That said, Elections Canada's vote counts are still pretty fast because it's usually just one contest. If it were a large, American-style ballot, there'd be a stronger use case for tabulators in terms of practicality. But for a single-race ballot, we can manage just fine without them. AB: Is there any downside to using tabulators? AE: It's not about tabulators versus hand-counting — it's about being open to scrutiny. You can make tabulators open to scrutiny, but we don't. And that's something that really needs to be addressed. AB: Could you elaborate on that a little bit? What do you mean by "open to scrutiny?" AE: I've worked at the polls, and when I'm a deputy returning officer, I have to count the ballots in full view of candidate representatives. You've got people standing there watching, and if they have a problem with how you interpret a ballot, they can challenge it in the moment. Those ballots are put aside in a separate bag for adjudication. With tabulators, you punch in a shutdown code at the end of the night, and the machine prints out a grocery store-style receipt with the vote totals. Scrutineers can be there, but they can't observe the count itself — just the receipt. So they're left to simply accept the results. AB: Because they can't look at the individual ballots at that point? AE: Right. The only way to look at the paper ballots is through a judicial recount. And to get that, the candidate has to provide evidence to support the challenge. Challenging an election is traumatic for everyone involved, so there's a high burden of proof. But in fairness, the burden of proof should be on the election official to demonstrate the count is correct — not on the candidate to prove it's wrong. AB: OK, so it sounds like you prefer the way the federal election works? AE: I prefer any method that provides openness to scrutiny. In the U.S., they deal with this in tabulator-based systems through something called a risk-limiting audit. It's a statistical sampling of paper ballots, so you don't have to recount everything. Many U.S. states have laws requiring these audits. If we're going to use tabulators, we need similar laws here. But we're not there yet. AB: So how does that sampling work in the States? AE: Well, they literally use Dungeons & Dragons-style dice to generate a random seed. That tells them which ballots to check. They then look at that random sub-sample and use statistics to determine whether the results support the tabulator count. Worst case, they do a full recount. Best case, just a small sample is enough to verify the result. AB: OK. That makes sense. So which direction do you think Elections Canada should go in? AE: Elections are hard to design in a way that meets every possible need. There are always trade-offs. One area where Elections Canada could be criticized is accessibility. For example, voters with visual impairments in Canada often have to vote with an assistant. In the U.S., the law requires that voters with disabilities be able to vote unassisted, which means they use more electronics at the polling places. That's something Elections Canada might have to improve. AB: Right. Do you see any changes coming to Elections Canada voting in the future? AE: Openly and overtly, I don't see any changes on the horizon from Elections Canada. But I do know there's a lot of pressure and interest in electronic voting, and it is achievable. If we're going to go there, we have to do it right. That means designing a system that allows for scrutiny of vote counting. The UN, for goodness' sake, requires transparency in that process. If we can provide that electronically, I don't have an issue. But it's going to take more thought — and more funding — to deliver.
CBC
28-04-2025
- CBC
London voters cast ballots saying they're motivated by different factors
Election day has finally arrived after a busy month-long campaign, and London voters wasted no time getting to the polls on Monday to cast their ballots. Polling stations across the city opened at 9:30 a.m. and will stay open until 9:30 p.m. Those still waiting in line when polls close will still be able to vote, Elections Canada says. Some Londoners voting at Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre said they were doing so to exercise their democratic right — and had no issues or delays casting a ballot. Cat Olcsvary said not voting would mean giving up the "right to complain about things," but said she felt the month-long campaign was "kind of a crapshow." "There was a lot going on, and everybody's kind of arguing with each other. We do need better for Canada ... I'm tired of the back and forth," said Olcsvary, who voted Liberal. "I just hope to see some change in a positive direction," said voter Kelsey Blais, who cast her ballot for the NDP. "I hope to see less conflict all over, and I hope to see a prime minister that is focused on our country's benefit." For Brad Fishleigh, who voted Conservative, a shortened campaign "might give an upper hand to one party over the other," he said. "I'm 35, and I'm self-employed, and I think it's important to try to represent your demographic and try to make a change." One voter, Nathan Stock, said he is casting a strategic ballot, in this case voting Liberal. "Dirka [Prout] is my riding, and normally I vote for her, but the strategic vote was more important this time," he said, referring to the NDP's candidate in London Centre. Some voters said this election was much too important to skip out on. "I think this is probably one of the most important elections we've had in a long time with what's going on down south and just on the world stage and the future of Canada," said Hali Blake, who voted with her husband, Jordan. Both cast a ballot for the Liberals, though Jordan noted he's normally an NDP supporter. "Canada will win either way. We're a great country. We don't subscribe to the things down south. I think we'll be winning either way. There's lots of great, great, great political leaders out there right now," he said. Record-breaking numbers during advance polls A number of Londoners CBC News spoke with Monday said they had already voted in advance polls, and were taking part in other activities offered at the polling station location. Elections Canada estimates 122,234 electors cast ballots between April 18 and 21 in the ridings of Middlesex—London, Elgin—St. Thomas—London South, London West, London Centre and London-Fanshawe. They are among the record-breaking 7.3 million Canadians who voted during advance polls. In London's three urban ridings alone, Elections Canada estimates 68,554 votes were cast in advanced polls last weekend. More than 26,000 people have also voted using special ballot voting kits, which are issued to electors, both in Canada and abroad, when an elector votes by mail, or when they vote in person at a local Elections Canada office.
CBC
15-04-2025
- CBC
Local moms gather to talk politics over a pint
New | Matthew Trevithick | CBC News | Posted: April 15, 2025 11:21 AM | Last Updated: Just now Affordability, housing, 2SLGTBQ+ rights among key issues taking the spotlight Image | MOMS TOGETHER LONDON - Group Caption: The Moms Together group met on Monday at London Brewing Co-op to talk about the upcoming election. (Matthew Trevithick/CBC News) Open Image in New Tab As voting day rapidly approaches, Londoners are gathering to talk about the federal election campaign and the issues that matter most to them. On Monday, the non-partisan parent advocacy group Moms Together held an election chat pub night at London Brewing Co-operative in London's Old East Village. The aim of the event, and others across Canada, is helping moms "understand how the decisions they make every day are inherently political, and they should be part of the political process." said Marie Rioux, the group's project lead. "We're definitely starting to feel a lot of mobilization from folks that weren't there before." Affordability, housing, and the climate were main issues cited in a survey the group conducted of Canadian moms, Rioux said. Making time to go to the ballot box was the biggest barrier keeping moms from voting, she added. "We wanted to create a space for them to have the conversations that they needed to have to get the information they needed, so they could go make an informed vote." Monday's gathering is a kickoff event for the group, with more planned in other cities, she said. CBC London spoke with a few of the participants at Monday's pub night to hear what issues are important to them. Name: Leo Baszak Occupation: Kindergarten teacher with the Thames Valley District School Board Priority election issues: Affordability and housing "As a teacher, I see a lot of my students come to school with not enough food in their tummies or not enough in their lunches," Baszak said. "I know that a lot of parents right now are really stretched as far as they can to make ends meet." This election, Baszak said they were leaning toward the NDP, and that, "from the other parties, I'm just not seeing enough." "They're focused on other issues that are important. But for me, personally, and what matters to me, I think that, in terms of affordability and housing, I trust the NDP the most." Whoever wins, Baszak hopes they listen to the Canadians who have the least, and are "thinking about what we can do to help the people who are the most vulnerable right now." Occupation: Assistant professor at Mount Royal University and PhD student at Western University Priority election issues: Canadian sovereignty and 2SLGBTQ+ rights "For me, I think the most important thing is about voting smart. Unfortunately, I feel like we can't vote for necessarily what our heart says," Cullen said. "The Number One issue that I'm voting for and about is for young people, for trans folks, for folks in our queer community. I really think it's important that we focus on making this a better place for young folks." While she's leaning toward the Liberals, Cullen says she's "certainly not a fan girl for any particular party," having voted Green, Liberal, and NDP previously. "I'm not a party supporter, typically. I am a, I would say, a policy person. I'm more concerned about policy than I am about party." Occupation: Co-founder of Viewer Discretion Legislation Coalition, a group which opposes graphic anti-abortion images in public. "I feel like they have come so far in those kinds of equality and equal rights and things like that, and ability to become who they know they are," she said. "I think the Liberals and NDP are aware that those are important issues that need to continue to evolve and not go backwards." Regardless of who wins, it's important that politicians be available to their constituents, Dean added. "I want them to be available for conversations, even the hard ones, even on things that maybe they don't agree with, but they're listening and keeping an open mind and open ears."
