TORONTO – Canoe.ca wants to give Ontario voters more power to deliver their provincial election questions online, on television and in daily newspapers and get answers from Ontario’s political parties.
The site’s "Video Vote" platform takes questions from ordinary Ontario voters about the issues that matter most to them. Citizens can use home video cameras or webcams to record their questions, then upload them for viewing at Canoe.ca/ontario.
And, through the reach of the Sun Media chain, the recently acquired Osprey publications and the Bowes newspapers, as well as broadcast partner SUN TV, voters province-wide can make their voices heard.
"This is about empowering people," said Rick Bogacz, editor-in-chief at Canoe.ca, in the press release. "We’re making it easy for the voters to talk to the politicians in a direct way, and hold them accountable." Citizens simply log on to Canoe.ca/ontario and use a three-step upload form to share their one-minute videos with the world – and with the political party leaders.
SUN TV will then select questions for the party leaders and candidates as they make appearances on the daily show CanoeLive during the campaign. Following the leaders’ debate, which will be broadcast live on Thursday on SUN TV, Canoe.ca visitors can view the leaders’ responses to their questions daily until the Ontario provincial election day, October 10.
Video questions and web polls will enhance coverage of the election. "This is a whole new way to look at covering an election," said Glenn Garnett, Executive Editor-in-Chief of Sun Media, in the same release. "With the Sun papers in Toronto and Ottawa, the London Free Press, and now the Whig-Standard in Kingston, the Barrie Examiner, the Sault-Ste-Marie and Sudbury Stars, the Daily Press in Timmins and dozens of other properties we can involve communities throughout Ontario. It makes great sense to add the voter’s voice into that equation and Canoe.ca is a trusted Canadian site with reach right across the province."
With many Ontarians saying the environment is a top priority, Canoe.ca’s Video Vote will also allow space for the Green party to answer voter questions along with the Liberals, Conservatives, and New Democrats. "The web can be a more democratic forum in some ways," says Bogacz. "Both the voters, and the lesser-known parties have an opportunity to be heard online. And so do the folks in more remote constituencies, including the north. That’s a positive thing for our electoral process and we hope it engages a lot of people right across the province."
