Voters have until midnight Saturday to register to vote

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Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks out on threats with calm

BC's Provincial Health Officer says she's grateful for the support she's getting since disclosing she has received death threats. Earlier this week, Dr. Bonnie Henry told a panel on leadership at a municipal convention that she has received abusive emails, phone messages and has had security in her home as a result of her being the public face of the response to the pandemic. But Henry appears to take her own words of advice to be calm and be kind, in response to the negative abuse.

"When people are anxious and afraid, some people's reaction is to lash out in anger and frustration and these were unprecedented times. So, I am doing fine. I have a strong sense of community; my neighbours, my friends, my family, to support me and I really do appreciate the support that I get from our community here in BC."—Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Meanwhile, Vancouver Island has one new confirmed COVID-19 case today, bringing the active case count in our health region to seven. It's the first new case reported in Island Health since Sunday. Province-wide, there are 98 new infections and one more death.

Federal Green Party leadership vote begins tomorrow

Voting begins tomorrow, to elect a new federal green party leader. Eight candidates are in the race to take over the leadership. Elizabeth May resigned her post more than a year ago but continues to be the face of the party in the House of Commons. Over the next week, the Greens are expecting to receive 200 mail-in ballots and close to 35,000 online votes from party members. Interim party leader Jo-Ann Roberts expects the vote will go smoothly because online voting was planned before the pandemic hit.

"Because of COVID, obviously there is no large gathering. None of that will happen, but the fact that we're doing online voting means voting can go ahead as planned. So I'm really pleased about that because it would have become really difficult to do that at the last minute."—Interim Federal Green Party Leader Jo-Ann Roberts.

Online voting opens to Green Party members tomorrow. The result will be announced at a virtual convention in Ottawa at 3 p.m. next Saturday, October 3.

Voter registration for provincial election ends tomorrow

British Columbians who want to register to vote in the provincial election can do so by phone until 8 p.m. tomorrow or online until midnight tomorrow. However, voters can still register to vote or update their information when they cast their ballot, but the process will take longer. Registering online or by phone means voting quicker on election day while helping to reduce wait times for others. To register by phone, call 1-800-661-8683 before 8 p.m. tomorrow. Do it online up until midnight tomorrow at elections.bc.ca/ovr.