Author: Audrey Jun

Audrey Jun is the Clicklaw Program Coordinator at Courthouse Libraries BC. She manages Clicklaw, working to connect people across the varied public legal education landscape. Audrey was called to the BC Bar in 2014 and combines backgrounds in law, public legal education, and technology.

Election Day is October 19th

The broader context

election-l_eAre you registered to vote?

Check here. If you’re not registered, you can also sign up and/or update your address at that link by next Tuesday, October 13 at 6pm (local time).

Read about other ways you can register here – by mail, or in person.

Busy on the 19th? Vote in advance.

Advance Voting: Friday, October 9 to Monday, October 12, between noon to 8pm. Check your voter information card that was mailed to you for where to go to vote in advance. You can also find your advance polling address here.

Another option is to vote at any Elections Canada office or by mail. Read more about alternative voting options.

If voting in person, bring proper ID: e.g. your driver’s license. See other ID options.

What time can I vote on October 19?

Most of B.C. is on Pacific Time: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
For the pockets of B.C. on Mountain Time: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Is my employer required to give me time off to vote?

Yes, most of us are entitled to 3 consecutive hours to vote on the 19th if you don’t have 3 hours outside of work for voting. Your employer gets to decide when. Read more about time off and some exceptions.

Has my riding changed?

Canada is divided into 338 ridings. One representative, or member of Parliament (MP), is elected for each riding. See the list of candidates for your electoral district here.

Federal riding boundaries are adjusted every 10 years. Thirty new ridings were created in the latest readjustment in 2013, affecting this year’s election – there are six more seats for B.C.

Your riding/electoral district’s information will be included on your voter information card that you receive in the mail, or look it up here. Once you’ve searched, click on “Where do I vote?” to see your location-specific information (see the highlighted section below):

Where_Vote

Extra Help

  • The Canadian Bar Association asked leaders of the main political parties to share their vision of equal justice for all Canadians. See their answers here.
  • VPL has put together a guide designed to help you to find information on a variety of topics related to the current and past Canadian federal elections. It includes a list of recommended books and links to party leader debates.
  • Multilingual Help: S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Federal Election Hotline operates from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday, October 5 until October 19 (except Thanksgiving Day October 12, 2015). Individuals can call 604-408-7260 for key election information in English, Cantonese and Mandarin with a new call back service for Farsi-speaking citizens.
  • Contact Elections Canada for more info: 1-800-463-6868 toll-free in Canada and the U.S., every day from 4am to 9pm Pacific Time.

Disability Disclosure in the Workplace

Community posts

By Shelley Hourston
Disability Alliance BC

DABC-logo
DABC invites (1) people with disabilities/chronic illness and (2) employers, to share stories and experiences that illustrate disclosure and accommodation in the workplace.

I’ve been writing about resilience for about 20 years now—most of that time I’ve worked at Disability Alliance BC (DABC). I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to talk to countless people with disabilities or chronic illnesses about their experiences.

Each story is unique but the common thread that intrigues me is the extraordinary creativity, commitment and determination that carries people forward despite their challenges. Our society focuses so exclusively on perceived deficits of disability that problem-solving, creative thinking and tenacity are overlooked. The consequences of disability deficit thinking is especially serious in the employment arena. Our experience at DABC led us to explore the flip-side of disability deficit thinking in the form of a guide to disability disclosure and accommodation in the workplace.

According to the Canadian Survey on Disability, 2012, there were 334,800 individuals aged 15-64 with disabilities in BC (10.8%).* Statistics Canada reports that in 2011, the employment rate of Canadians aged 25-64 with disabilities was 49% compared with 79% for those without a disability.** In BC, the $800/month ($9,600/year) earnings exemption for a single person receiving disability benefits provides an opportunity for people with disability/chronic illness to supplement their income with part-time employment.

Thanks to support from the Law Foundation of BC, DABC is developing a reader-friendly guide on the law relating to disclosing disability in employment settings. Disclosing Your Disability: A Guide for People with Disabilities In BC is intended for people with all types of disabilities (including visible and invisible disabilities and chronic illnesses). Some people are able to work full-time with appropriate accommodation while others may be able to work part-time. Others may be employed but face a need for disclosure due to acquired disability or chronic illness. The guide will address legal rights and responsibilities of disclosure and provide practical activities and worksheets to guide readers through self-assessment and to elicit and document individual strengths. A reference list of sample accommodations and resources will equip potential employees and employers with ideas and a place to begin planning.

We’d like help from you too. The guide will include six experiences of people with disabilities/chronic illness and six stories from employers to illustrate disclosure and accommodation in the workplace. If you know of someone who would be willing to share their experience, please ask them to contact me.

Shelley Hourston is a program director at DABC and can be reached at 604-875-0188 (toll-free 1-877-232-7400) or Shelley@disabilityalliancebc.org.

*Statistics Canada. Canadian Survey on Disability, 2012. Table 1.11: Prevalence of Disability for Adults by Sex and Age Group, British Columbia, 2012. 

**Statistics Canada. Persons with Disabilities and Employment (Insights on Canadian Society) by Martin Turcotte. 2014.