Elections BC investigate alleged voter fraud by BC Liberals in Surrey-Fleetwood riding

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Wednesday COVID-19 update

There have been two new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the Island Health Region since yesterday. There are three active cases of the virus in our region but there have been no exposures in area schools and no one in hospital with the virus in Island Health. There are 125 new cases of COVID-19 across the province. There have been no new deaths from the virus over the past 24 hours.

Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson pleads ignorance over the details

Elections BC is investigating a complaint that Liberals in Surrey-Fleetwood are illegally collecting personal information and requesting vote-by-mail packages on behalf of voters. The penalties for doing so include a fine of up to $20,000 dollars, 2 years in jail and a ban on voting or being an MLA for seven years. A conversation on What's App shows a Liberal campaign organizer, telling volunteers to "register as many voters as we can by ordering ballots in the mail." Earlier today, Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson pleaded ignorance about the details.

"Well I first heard about this about half an hour ago and I understand its been reported to Elections BC And of course, as this mail-in ballot phenomenon gets the attention of the public and the voters, there is going to be some confusion, but we have to be clear: it is the obligation of candidates to follow the law and we expect that of them and as this unfolds we'll see if Elections BC has a position, which we will, of course, respect."—BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson.

In a statement, Elections BC says "we have no evidence to suggest that requests for vote-by-mail packages were actually made on a voter’s behalf." It says The BC Liberal Party has sent a reminder about the law to Surrey Fleetwood Liberal candidate Gary Thind and all of their candidates and campaign managers. Elections BC says it is "taking appropriate and ongoing steps to address this matter," but it offers no details about what ongoing steps it is taking.

Virtual convocation for VIU grads today

One of the valedictorians at Vancouver Island University's graduation ceremony says COVID-19 has brought some positive signs for the future. Seth Recalma delivered his pre-recorded speech at VIU's virtual convocation today. 1100 graduates marked their graduation with an hour-long live stream on the university's Facebook page. Recalma says COVID-19 actually pushed him to get his dream job at the Moose Hide Campaign.

"I think if anything it pushed me even harder to dig my heels in and tap into a few other jobs. I worked a few other jobs over the summertime and a few other contacts that contacted me with the Moose Hide Campaign, it's been good."—Seth Recalma VIU valedictorian.

The Bachelor of Business Administration grad planned to watch today's virtual celebration with a small group of friends.