CEO GE28 Communique #3 to Chief Official Agents

Colleagues—

I’m writing to you on Day -45 by our election administrator calendar, not long from a potential election call. At Elections Saskatchewan, we are very focused on the important task ahead.  Having completed the last half of our final field leadership team training efforts last week, we are now moving into implementation.

It’s an exciting time and we’re looking forward to continuing to serve our stakeholders across the province – including you in our registered political parties. With this in mind, here are a few updates on key RPP topics:

• Polling locations: I am attaching a draft copy of the polling locations that will be in use for the general election. At this point, I need to stress to you that these locations are preliminary and are subject to change. We are distributing them with an eye toward facilitating your work, but they should not be distributed publicly – I am providing them only for internal party use. I will be sending a final list of polling locations in the same format after the writs of election are issued. If you have any questions about these locations, please don’t hesitate to contact Jennifer Colin at jennifer.colin@elections.sk.ca.

• Register of political parties deadline: This is an early reminder that each registered political party has a statutory obligation to confirm or update the register of political parties within ten days of the writs of election being issued. The statement needs to be in writing and must be signed by the party leader. The leader can also designate a representative to endorse candidates for election in this statement. Details can be found in Section 226 of The Election Act, 1996. I will issue another reminder when the writs are issued.

• Election signage information near Saskatchewan highways: The provincial Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure has asked that we provide the province’s registered political parties with information on placing election signs along public roadways. Please see the attached document that they have provided.

• Campaigning in Saskatchewan Housing Corporation Buildings: Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) has been in contact with my office about the coming election campaign. SHC recognizes that candidates and their representatives have right of access to their buildings at certain times but they are also concerned about the privacy and security of their residents as well as the safety of candidates and their representatives. With this in mind, SHC has issued simple guidelines and instructions to all of their secured facilities (e.g., candidates or their representatives must provide I.D. before they will be allowed to enter a building; canvassing only allowed between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.). I believe these guidelines and instructions are appropriate and will ensure you get the access you need while also ensuring safety and security. Similar rules and processes have been put in place by SHC for any Elections Saskatchewan enumeration activities that take place in personal care homes. A copy of those guidelines have been provided by SHC and are attached to this document. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact the Ministry of Social Services at 1-800-667-7567.

• Ongoing communication between RPPs and ESK: In recent weeks, I have worked to communicate with you as Chief Official Agents on an as-needed basis through this kind of communique. I hope it has proven effective for you, but please let me know if I can make any improvements that will facilitate even better communication with you. As we move closer and into the writ period, it may be that we will need to meet as a group. Given our busy schedules, I want to reserve space for but not require this approach. If a group meeting is needed, I will call a meeting via conference call. I also recognize that you will want to be in touch with us at Elections Saskatchewan individually. In the days ahead, I will provide specific instructions with a list of phone numbers with respect to how ESK will manage communications with you, your candidates, and their business managers.

I want to wish you all a very good weekend and week ahead.  I will be in touch again soon with more information but, as always, please contact me should you have any questions or comments.