Expats taking right-to-vote fight to top court

It’s too late for this federal election, but two Canadian expats filed an application before the Supreme Court of Canada on Tuesday to challenge a law that prevents them from voting because they live outside the country.

To be eligible to vote, the Canada Elections Act says, a Canadian must “have resided abroad for less than five consecutive years,” and “confirm that they intend to return to Canada to reside.”

Montreal-born Jamie Duong and Toronto native Gillian Frank, both of whom live and work in the United States, won the right to vote after Superior Court Justice Michael Penny ruled in May 2014 that the Act violated their Charter rights.

But the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned that ruling this past July. In a split decision, the judges said the regulation is a “reasonable” infringement on expats’ constitutional rights.

“Permitting all non-resident citizens to vote would allow them to participate in making laws that affect Canadian residents on a daily basis but have little to no practical consequences for their own daily lives,” Chief Justice George Strathy wrote in the 2-1 decision.

That means Frank and Duong cannot cast ballots in the Oct. 19 election. Nor can approximately a million other Canadian expats.

The decision angered many, among them actor Donald Sutherland, who penned a letter in the Globe and Mail.

“I’m an expatriate and the Harper government won’t let expatriates participate in Canadian elections,” the Officer of the Order Canada and Governor General’s Award winner wrote. “I’m not dual anything. I’m Canadian.”

An Elections Canada spokesperson told Yahoo Canada News at the time that the agency is just following the law.

“We are required to administer the Canada Elections Act as enacted by Parliament and interpreted by the courts,” Denise Benson said. “Although it was a decision of an Ontario court, as is its practice, Elections Canada applied the court’s ruling across Canada.“

Frank and Duong were disappointed by the ruling and vowed to continue the fight, asking Canada’s top court on Tuesday to hear their appeal.

“It is my hope that the (Supreme Court of Canada) will reject the Conservative government’s narrow vision for democracy and citizenship,” Frank told Yahoo Canada News.

The federal government has 30 days to respond to their application, and the Supreme Court could take months to decide whether or not to hear their case.

“Canadians abroad are proud Canadians, with strong ties to our country,” said a statement from lawyer Shaun O’Brien, of Cavalluzzo Shilton McIntyre Cornish, the firm representing the pair. “They are entitled to the same unyielding protection of their fundamental democratic rights that the Supreme Court has provided to prisoners.”