When Prime Minister Paul Martin dropped the writ May 23 for a federal election June 28, a well-organized machine leapt into motion.
All across the country, Elections Canada offices sprang into life almost immediately, including the one here in Fort Frances.
“We were ready to go at 2 p.m. on May 23,” said additional assistant returning officer Lyle Hudson. “It’s the law.”
Hudson is in charge of all the polls in the new Thunder Bay-Rainy River riding between Mine Centre and Rainy River. Those polls currently number 44, but that could change if there is sufficient demand.
“We’re trying to make it as convenient as possible,” he noted this morning. “There may be more polls if they are requested.”
However, there have been some glitches so far. Because everything was put together so quickly, the phone line to the office had not been operating properly until today.
That problem, Hudson assured, is now fixed and so people should have no trouble getting through henceforth by calling 274-9905.
The Elections Canada office, located at 517 Mowat Ave., is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday from noon-4 p.m. until election day.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
