Council discusses internet voting system for next Whitehorse municipal election
CBC
Internet voting could be coming to Whitehorse's next municipal election, but one city councillor fears the North isn't exempt from the risk of foreign interference.
The city has drafted a bylaw to govern this year's election, set for Oct. 17, and any future by-elections.
On Monday night the City's Director of Corporate Services Valerie Braga took questions from councillors about the new legislation.
She explained that internet voting could capture a larger pool of voters.
"It is a means of getting the vote out to people without requiring them to have to come to a polling space. We, traditionally, have not had high voter turnout and we saw this as an opportunity to try to get more people voting," she said.
In the 2022 municipal election, about 37 per cent of Whitehorse's eligible voters cast a ballot.
Comparatively, in the 2021 territorial election, 65 per cent of the Yukon's registered electors had a say.
The draft bylaw states that voters will be able to cast an online ballot from Sept. 27 until polling day.
Paper ballots and special ballots will still be available.
For Councillor Ted Laking, the idea posed some "serious concerns."
He cited a "growing tide of foreign interference" in elections in Canada and the United States.
"We know that countries such as Russia are not afraid to use these types of tools to interfere in elections. We're seeing that closer to home with daily revelations coming out of the foreign interference inquiry," he said.
"To quote from a CSIS briefing note... 'foreign actors are targeting all levels of government including the provincial and municipal levels'. Then it goes on to state that the purpose of this would be 'as a means of generating bottom up pressure on higher levels of government to influence policies.' "
Laking urged the city not to "open the door" and allow Whitehorse to be used as a test case by foreign actors.
Prominent northern leaders have been touting the Arctic economic and security corridor as a "nation-building" project that will bring economic benefits to the two territories it straddles, but others are split on how much good will come out of it.
When the federal government tabled its 2025 budget last month, it included a proposal that tax fraud experts say is long overdue — if also a belated acknowledgement that the Canada Revenue Agency has been repeatedly duped into paying out untold millions in bogus tax refunds to scammers.
Talking with an AI chatbot can successfully convince people to change their votes and could affect the outcome of future elections, according to a new study.
While some are writing wishlists for Santa Claus, a group of Newfoundland and Labrador youth are writing their wishlist for the provincial government.
A horse owner near Stewiacke, N.S., says the current shortage of hay in the province is putting pressure on her financially.
Victoria Volkanova was remembering Jewish resilience and courage by celebrating Hanukkah on Sunday.
Winnipeggers are still digging out from this past week’s winter wallop, but the wait for roadside assistance is almost over, according to the provincial motoring association.
When long-time journalist Cornelia Naylor picked up the first copy of her newly printed community newspaper this week, it wasn’t something she had ever expected to do.
The province's police watchdog is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman in Toronto Sunday.
Toronto police say a collision involving several vehicles in the city's east-end left one driver in life-threatening condition Sunday.
A church service in Stratford, P.E.I., brought together Christmas traditions from across the globe on Sunday.
On an extremely cold day, many people would prefer to stay home, cozy up under a blanket, and put on the TV, radio, or a favourite podcast.
In an era of Ring doorbells and No Soliciting signs, breaking the evening silence of a suburban London street can sometimes feel like a radical act.