The District of Lake Country has announced the details of the upcoming referendum and launched a referendum web page, complete with links to social media sites.
“With more and more residents turning to the internet for their news, social media is a great way to stay up-to-date or engage with the process” said deputy chief election officer Willene Perez. “We want to provide residents easy access to voting information and encourage them to find out more about the Okanagan Rail Corridor acquisition.”
The District has set up a 2015 Referendum web page, an Okanagan Rail Corridor web page and will be using its District Facebook page and Twitter feed to ensure residents understand the project and the referendum process. The website and QuickLinks can all be accessed at lakecountry.bc.ca.
“Ensuring our residents have access to accurate information is important for the referendum process,” said Michael Mercer, director of engineering and environmental services; and the District’s representative on the Inter-jurisdictional Acquisition Team. “For instance, some people may not be aware that as part of the agreement with CN, they are responsible for the removal and salvage of the railway infrastructure and remediating the corridor to an industrial environmental standard as determined under provincial Environmental Protection Act regulations.”
The referendum general voting day is set for Saturday, April 25 to approve the borrowing of up to $2.6 million towards purchasing the Okanagan Rail Corridor within district boundaries. Ward-based advance poll voting and mail ballot voting arrangements have also been made so all eligible Lake Country electors can participate in the referendum at any of the six different voting opportunities from April 15 to April 25.