Since the start of their mandate, the members of the Citizen round table have been able to discuss many issues with Élections Québec. On June 4, the half-day meeting focused on education for democratic citizenship in Québec schools, the notice of entry designed by Élections Québec, and on a draft of the communications campaign for the municipal general elections.
Expertise profile for democratic citizenship in Québec schools
What do our young people need to learn to be able to exercise their democratic citizenship after high school? Table members had to answer this question during the meeting.
Five areas of knowledge were identified as essential or indispensable by many members of the Citizen round table:
- Understand the impact of the vote.
- Know the components of a democratic society, understand their roles and how they interrelate.
- Learn how to be well-informed (where to look for information, critical thinking, distinguishing what’s true from what’s not).
- Learn how to develop his or her way of thinking (elaborate on his or her opinion with logical arguments, challenge himself or herself, listen to other people’s ideas).
- Be a curious and open-minded person.
Notices of entry
During the provincial elections scheduled for 2022, the Chief Electoral Officer will send a notice of entry to each Québec address that will allow electors to confirm if they are entered on the list of electors.
Élections Québec allowed members of the Citizen round table to preview the new templates it designed, before releasing them to the public, to get the members’ opinion on the work done to date.
Most members found that the information presented on the three notices of entry templates was clear. Several members showed a preference for one specific template. They also made some suggestions for improvements to the various notice of entry templates, such as:
- Space permitting, state which identification documents are authorized or indicate where to find this information.
- Modify the calendar to only show the dates on which entry on the list of electors can be revised, dates when voting takes place at the office of the returning officer, as well as all voting days or the entire election period.
Feedback on the communication campaign
The members of the Citizen round table were shown a draft of the communications campaign for the November 2021 municipal general elections. Overall, they liked this draft of the campaign.
Read the abridged minutes of this meeting to for more information on this subject and the discussion held between the members of the Citizen round table.
Citizen round table
The Citizen round table is a space for reflection and discussion that aims to promote citizen participation and feed our reflection in electoral matters. The members, twelve electors appointed for a two-year term, give us their opinion, in an impartial and non-partisan manner, on questions relating to the Québec election system, in the interest of the Québec population.
