March 15, 2016: Writ Period Bulletin for Field Leadership Team

This issue of the Bulletin includes the following articles:

  • Reminder of Deadline for Nomination Papers to Potential Candidates
  • Nomination – Emergency Provision Deadline
  • Banking Information for Direct Deposit
  • Election Worker Payment and Charitable Donations
  • Hiring Non-Canadians as Election Workers

Reminder of Deadline for Nomination Papers to Potential Candidates

The final deadline for the close of candidate nominations is Saturday, March 19.  All candidates must file their Nomination Papers along with a certified cheque, money order or bank draft (not cash) for $100 with your office before 2 p.m. 

If there are any potential candidates that you are aware of who have not yet filed their Nomination Package, you should attempt to make contact to remind them of the approaching deadline and the requirements for nomination.  If you need assistance contacting potential candidates, you may get in touch with the Support Desk by calling 1-866-249-7186 and select option 2.

Nomination – Emergency Provision Deadline

There is one exception to in-person nomination in our legislation, although it is very rarely used. Section 44(8) of The Election Act, 1996 allows for a candidate, in an emergency, to fax in his or her nomination package to the returning officer.

  • The fax must be received by 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 19;
  • The fax must contain the required nomination information;
  • The fax must also include an explanation as to why the candidate was not able to file in person;
  • The reason must be a verifiable emergency;
  • Within 48 hours of the nomination deadline, the returning officer must receive the original nomination package and required deposit;
  • The nomination package must be exactly the same as what was faxed to the returning officer.

It is very unlikely that any of you will need to process a nomination is this fashion, but if you receive a nomination package faxed to you on Nomination Day, contact the Support Desk immediately by calling 1-866-249-7186 and ask to speak to Jennifer Colin.

Banking Information for Direct Deposit

Many direct deposits have been rejected by financial institutions which results in employees’ pay cheques not being received in a timely manner.  When entering a new employee in ESPREE, please have someone double-check your entry for banking information to ensure it is correct. 

If you are unsure or have any questions about entering banking information, please call the Support Desk and select option 2 for Finance and Payroll Support.   Calling the Support Desk only takes a few minutes but can save all of us time if we can prevent an error.

Election Worker Payment and Charitable Donations

For the first time, election workers are able—and even encouraged—to donate all or a portion of their earnings to a registered charity that is listed on the CanadaHelps website.  When completing Form E-99A – Election Worker Payroll Registration (see top of page 2 on form), workers will need to provide (1) the charity’s name; (2) the charity’s business number; (3) the percent of earnings they would like to donate (0-100%); and (4) a personal email address where a tax receipt is to be sent.  A name and business number for charities can be found easily at www.CanadaHelps.org.

During your training presentations, be sure to remind election workers that:

  • All wages, including those that are to be donated to a charity are subject to deductions in the form of income taxes, CPP and EI. Deductions will be taken on each cheque issued so only the remaining portion of an election worker’s earnings will be donated to the charity of their choice. Workers can donate between 0-100% of this portion;
  • Election workers who choose to donate all or a percentage of their earnings will be emailed a tax receipt from www.CanadaHelps.org as soon as the election worker payment is processed by Elections SK, which will happen by the end of April;
  • The rates of payment for election workers are set by provincial government regulations and cannot be changed;
  • All election workers will be paid Monday, April 18, if timesheets are entered and approved by Wednesday, April 6; and
  • Any election worker or returning office staff that earn $500 or more while working the election will receive a T4 slip from Elections SK by the end of February 2017.

Please remind your election workers that if they have any questions regarding pay, they may call our Public Call Centre at 1-877-958-8683.

Hiring Non-Canadians as Election Workers

For positions that do not require the worker to be an eligible voter (e.g. information officer, registration officer, security officer), you can hire non-Canadians to fill the role.  However, you must ensure that everyone you hire is legally entitled to work in Canada. 

 

The first step in this process is to obtain the individual’s social insurance number (SIN).  SINs beginning with a “9” are issued to temporary workers who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents.  These SINs are valid only until the expiry date indicated on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) work permit. 

Before hiring anyone with a SIN that begins with “9”, you must:

  • Obtain a copy of the person’s work permit authorizing them to work in Canada;
  • Verify that the document is not expired and will be valid until at least April 4; and
  • Confirm that the work permit is not restricted to a specific employer or does not have any other restrictions, such as location or type of employment, which may impact the individual’s ability to fulfill the responsibilities of the position.