Green Party Calls on Feds to Welcome First Nations

Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 14:34

 

 

The Green Party is calling on Ottawa to do more to make First Nations people feel welcome at the polls.

 

With the prospects of a federal election hanging in the air, critic Lorraine Rekmans says not enough is being done to get First Nations people out to vote.

 

In the last election, she says voter turnout for First Nations was less than 47 percent.

 

She says the biggest obstacle is the lack of riding information on the Elections Canada website.

 

She says many First Nations communities aren’t marked on the website, leaving some voters confused about which riding they’re in.

 

Rekmans also says other voters have told her the election process prejudices Indigenous land-claims or that they have been turned away due to a lack of identification.

 

She says Ottawa must try to make federal elections more inclusive so more Aboriginal people will vote.