Toronto, ON -- The Canadian Snowbird Association (CSA) has reacted swiftly to the media rumours of a mid-April election call by Premier Landry.

"We are concerned about the rumoured date of April 14 for the Quebec provincial election," says CSA President, Ellen White. "It is well known that snowbirds return by April 30 to file their income tax. We recognize that an election in Quebec is imminent and perhaps should have been called early last fall, but to call it when many Quebec snowbirds are still out of the country is questionable. When we first heard there was serious consideration for a mid-April date, our office contacted not only Mr. Landry's representatives, but also the offices of Jean Charest and Mario Dumont - who were supportive of our concerns."

The Quebec government takes great effort to ensure that temporarily absent voters have the opportunity to cast their ballot, yet by calling the election before the end of April, it denies the travelling snowbird the opportunity of making an informed decision. They face the prospect of neither listening to candidate debates nor questioning each candidate's platform.

"With Romanow's short-sighted recommendations in his Report on the Future of Health Care, the CSA has major concerns over the future of the portability principle in the Canada Health Act. We must hear the various candidates' position on this," states Roland Belanger, Quebec Director for the CSA. "Our members are retired and continue to pay full taxes for infrastructure they do not use for up to six months of the year. An April 14th vote means that thousands of voters will be excluded from the information process."

The CSA contacted Premier Landry's office for an explanation as to the dissemination of election information. A spokesperson informed the CSA of a plan to send material to Florida through Quebec media outlets. When it was questioned as to how the Quebec voters in Texas would be contacted, no strategy was forthcoming.

"It is believed that it will be a tight race," says Ellen White. "The number of votes from snowbirds outside the province could have a profound effect on the outcome of the election - we hope that Mr. Landry will consider this and hold the election in early May."

For Information
Heather Nicolson-Morrison, Executive Director
1-800-805-8214