Whitehorse council supports municipal voting rights for permanent residents

Non-citizen permanent residents living in the Yukon deserve to have a say when it comes to how their community is running, says Whitehorse city councillor Jocelyn Curteanu.

"We have a lot of people coming to the territory from other countries," she said.

"They're contributing. They've decided to live here permanently. They're investing into our community. They're putting their money into homes. They're paying taxes. They should have a say in their governance."

Earlier this week, Whitehorse city council unanimously voted to submit five resolutions to the Association of Yukon Communities (AYC) to review and consider during its annual general meeting. One of those resolutions calls for the Yukon Government to review the Municipal Act for the purpose of allowing permanent residents to vote in municipal elections.

Permanent residents can access most social services and benefits that citizens receive, including health care. They can apply for Canadian citizenship, and have protection under law and the Canadian Charter. But permanent residents cannot vote, hold public office or certain high-level security positions.

"If we're looking to retain community members ... we need to show them that we appreciate them. We need to not just say it but to actually do something for them to prove it," Curteanu said.

AYC president Ted Laking said the association's membership will debate the resolutions during its meeting in May. If the voting resolution passes there, he or the association's executive will request the Yukon Government to take action.

A report presented to council last week stated that both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have seen bills introduced to allow permanent residents to vote, however they were never passed.

Curteanu said this could be an opportunity to set a precedent. 

"We would be leading the nation," she said. "Showing them how important these people are to our community and also to acknowledge to them that we do want to hear what you have to say and we want you to stay here."

Over 50 countries allow it in various ways

Mario Bellissimo is the founder of and principal lawyer for Bellissimo Law Group in Toronto. His firm specializes in immigration litigation and inadmissibility.

He said provincial and territorial authorities have the right for the purpose of municipal elections to grant authority to permanent residents to vote. He confirmed that no jurisdiction in Canada has done so.

"There's over 50 countries that allow it in various ways," Bellissimo told CBC News. "Frankly, given the number of countries that have done it, Canada is becoming more so an outlier in this area, internationally." 

Bellissimo offered his thoughts on why Canada has yet to make the move on allowing permanent residents the right to vote.

"You're really dealing with, what does it mean for potentially devaluing individuals seeking citizenship in Canada?" Bellissio said. "For people that work in immigration and citizenship law and refugee protection, that's the holy grail. You want to be a Canadian citizen, well there are a number of important rights that are attached.

"I think the fear has been, if you go there there's been some mechanical limitations. How do you track all of these people? How quickly could you get them registered for an election?"

Bellissimo said if the Yukon were to move ahead with changing the Municipal Act it would provide other jurisdictions with empirical data to work with.

"Toronto passed a similar motion but never acted on it," he said. "New Brunswick is apparently going to do it by 2026. You know, up in the Yukon it could pivot more quickly because of the number of individuals they're dealing with," he said.