Chinese community leaders in Alberta say they are helping voters understand the province’s 10 complex referendum questions as voting gets under way.
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Albertans are voting in the province’s referendum, and Chinese community leaders say they are mobilizing to help voters understand the ballot’s 10 complex questions.
Teresa Woo-Paw, chair of the ACCT Foundation, said many voters find the referendum difficult to parse. “Even English-speaking Canadians, people born and raised here, many don’t fully understand these 10 questions, because altogether they’re over 400 words, and they’re not asked in a direct way,” Woo-Paw said.
Woo-Paw and Steven Tsang, a member of Asian Canadian for United Canada, said community leaders have built a cross-ethnic coalition since July to address what they described as an information gap.
In addition to the separation question, Woo-Paw said the other nine questions cover a range of topics, including immigration and the constitutional division of powers.
Tsang called the ballot “the largest and most complex vote in Canadian history,” while Woo-Paw said the community believes most Chinese voters support Alberta remaining in Canada. “We believe that among ethnic communities, over 90 per cent support Alberta remaining in Canada,” she said.
Former Alberta MLA Woo-Paw also linked turnout to what she said are consequences for how government resources are allocated. She said, “The government doesn’t know who you voted for, but it knows whether you voted. Technology is so advanced now, they type in your surname and they know how many Chinese voted or didn’t vote,” adding, “If we don’t vote, we’re not important; when they make decisions on how to allocate resources.”
Geopolitical commentator Sam Choi said the referendum has particular significance for first-generation immigrants and that voting can help Chinese Canadians better understand Canada’s political system. “For Chinese to come out and vote is a very good opportunity,” Choi said. “A channel for the community to understand our federal system, the division of powers with the provinces, and how to further improve going forward.”
Results for the 10 questions are expected to be released in batches, and the outcome of the stay-or-leave question is expected early Tuesday morning.
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