Donald Sutherland complains about not being allowed to vote in Canada

[Locutus]

Didn't know this over-rated hack was still alive. At any rate, here's his little rant:

ORONTO — In an op-ed published Tuesday, veteran actor Donald Sutherland bemoaned his ineligibility to vote in his native Canada.“If you don’t live here all the time you can’t vote,” the 80-year-old star wrote in The Globe and Mail.

“Americans who live abroad can vote. They can vote because they’re citizens! Citizens! But I can’t. Because why? Because I’m not a citizen? Because what happens to Canada doesn’t matter to me?”

Canadian citizens who live more than five years abroad have not been allowed to vote in federal elections since 1993. The restriction was struck down as unconstitutional by an Ontario Superior Court judge last year but then upheld earlier this month by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Sutherland was born in New Brunswick, raised in Nova Scotia and attended the University of Toronto. He spent his early career in the UK and moved to the U.S. in the late ’60s.


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Donald Sutherland complains about not being allowed to vote in Canada | Globalnews.ca

 

[WLDB]

I imagine its not over yet. It'll no doubt go to the Supreme Court.

 

[mentalfloss]

Overrated actor hack is smarter than Harper confirmed.

 

[SLM]

I think if you hold citizenship and pay income taxes, you should be allowed to vote.

 

[taxslave]

I think if you hold citizenship and pay income taxes, you should be allowed to vote.

The paying income tax here is the key. I'm betting he doesn't.

 

[mentalfloss]

The paying income tax here is the key. I'm betting he doesn't.

No it's not.

Stop thinking we need to operate a country liked it's a business.

 

[taxslave]

It is a business. Anyone that doesn't want to pull their weight can leave.

 

[SLM]

The paying income tax here is the key. I'm betting he doesn't.

If he owns a home here he'd have to file.

 

[taxslave]

If he owns a home here he'd have to file.

Are you sure? Lots of Americans own houses here.

 

[SLM]

It is a business. Anyone that doesn't want to pull their weight can leave.

Just for the record, I don't disagree. But I also think we (meaning the government) has to keep our hands out of people's pockets if we're not going to give them a say in how things are done.

 

[Machjo]

So should voting rights be based on citizenship or residency? If I had my way, it would be based on residency, but until then, citizens should be allowed to vote.

 

[mentalfloss]

It is a business. Anyone that doesn't want to pull their weight can leave.

Easy there Hitler.

You don't have to be Aryan to gain entry.

 

[taxslave]

So should voting rights be based on citizenship or residency? If I had my way, it would be based on residency, but until then, citizens should be allowed to vote.

SHould Canadians that live and pay taxes in foreign lands for a number of years be permitted to retain citizenship?

 

[WLDB]

SHould Canadians that live and pay taxes in foreign lands for a number of years be permitted to retain citizenship?

Under what law could it be revoked?

 

[taxslave]

Under what law could it be revoked?

Make one. At the very least they should not be permitted to come back and enjoy all the government freebees without contributing.

 

[JamesBondo]

imo, voting should be easy in this country. It certainly is for some citizens, they are allowed to vote by mail.

 

[SLM]

Are you sure? Lots of Americans own houses here.

In Canada, you're taxed on your World Wide Income and it's based on whether they consider you a resident or not.

The most important thing to consider when determining your residency status in Canada for income tax purposes is whether or not you maintain, or you establish, residential ties with Canada.
Significant residential ties to Canada include:

• a home in Canada;
• a spouse or common-law partner in Canada; and

Determining your residency status

 

[DaSleeper]

Elections Canada Online | Registration and Voting Processes for Canadians Who Live Abroad

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I think if you hold citizenship and pay income taxes, you should be allowed to vote.

How 'bout if you don't have income?

 

[Ludlow]

I liked him in space cowboys