Second Webcast on Municipal Elections for Persons with Disabilities

A second Internet-based seminar to help raise awareness of municipal and school board elections for persons with disabilities is being held Tuesday, Aug. 14.

Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations is partnering with Dalhousie University's College of Continuing Education, Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities and the Disabled Persons Commission to deliver the webcast on the October elections including information on voting, running as a candidate or taking part in a campaign.

"To reach our goal of encouraging more Nova Scotians, and in this case those with disabilities, to run for local office and increase municipal and school board election voter turnout, we are offering further opportunities for people to participate in a webcast," said John MacDonell, Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

"We encourage participants who may be new to this technology to visit the municipal elections website in advance of the session to practice logging in using a test webcast."

"We are actively working to raise awareness of barriers persons with disabilities face and increase accessibility during the election process in the province," said Gail Bruhm, provincial co-ordinator for the Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities. "Our goal is to ensure that all who are eligible to vote, have a chance to cast a ballot."

The webcast will have accessibility features including closed captioning and sign language. Participants will be able to communicate with presenters by typing questions into the chat box or voicing their questions. There will also be an audio only option for people who can not access the webcast.

"I enjoyed sharing my experiences at the first session in June and look forward to reaching out to more individuals with disabilities to encourage them to get involved in their community and government," said former MLA and Dartmouth North Councillor Jerry Pye. "This is the single most important thing a person with a disability can do."

This live webcast will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. To register and get more details go to www.ns-municipal-elections.ca and follow the civic engagement webinar link up to one hour before the webcast begins. If there are problems logging in people can call 902-494-3456 or 1-800-263-6232.

"As we continue to learn more ways to engage with communities using emerging technologies, I am fortunate to partner with the province in a second webcast for persons with disabilities," said Jack Novack, College of Continuing Education, Dalhousie University.

"The October election provides a great opportunity for all Nova Scotians to make a difference by casting their vote, working on a campaign, or running as a candidate. We hope this session will reach more Nova Scotians and encourage them to participate."