“We have been insulted by keeping the election on our festival day.”
These are just some of the comments from the community. People from the community agree that if there were another festival, such questions would not have been raised, and the election date would have changed.
Election day has arrived, where every candidate hopes people will vote.
Over the past few days, OMNI Television met with candidates, from the mayor to councilors, trying to understand their views, the issues in their areas, and what initiatives have been taken.
A critical issue raised during advance voting is the municipal elections taking place on the same day as Diwali.
To discuss this topic, Seher Shafiq, a political commentator, kept a close eye on this issue and asked questions to the candidates in this regard.
According to Shafiq, it is strange that no candidates are talking about this concern.
Diwali is one of the year’s most influential South Asian, religious, and cultural celebrations.
According to the community’s people, the province has consistently shown to be so diverse.
Seher mentioned that with half of Peel’s 2016 population identifying as South Asian, two events on the same day would affect many families.
Not that there are not examples, but in 2007, the Ontario government moved the October 4 provincial election to October 10 to honour Jewish voters observing Shemini Atzeret.
People who came to celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas in the Gurdwara were disappointed.
According to many, it is the responsibility to vote, so the right candidate is given the duty to serve the city.
More than 6,300 candidates across the province are running to tackle several critical issues, from housing affordability—to infrastructure and public transportation—to COVID-19 recovery and mental health.
People are hopeful that some action will be taken for the future so that, again, we do not see the festival day colliding with the election.
