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The Canadian Snowbird Association • www.snowbirds.org • 1-800-265-3200
“ In addition, if you have 30 days or less left on your current prescription, the ministry will allow an early
refll of your next 100-day supply and your pharmacist may also dispense an additional 100-day vacation
supply (providing the pharmacist receives proper documentation). This allowance enables you to take
between a 200 to 230-day supply of your medication with you while travelling, depending on when you
request your early refll and vacation supply.”
David Caplan
Ontario Minister of Health
10/06/08
Recommendations:
Simplify the process for obtaining access to a 212-day supply of prescription drugs. This will
allow travellers to meet their medication needs without having to time their requests, write a letter or make ar-
rangements to have drugs sent from Ontario to the travel destination. Reimburse the cost of medication pre-
scribed by appropriately accredited physicians and dispensed outside the province.
ACCESS TO VOTING RIGHTS FOR TRAVELLERS
F
(2006: F)
Ontario is the only place in North America that fails to permit absentee mail-in balloting. (Voters enjoy this right in
the rest of Canada, all 50 U.S. states and Mexico.) Ontarians absent from the province on election day can only vote
at advance polls or by proxy. Proxy voting is a cumbersome, time-consuming process by which a traveller appoints
another person in the electoral district to vote on his or her behalf. The traveller’s signature on an application to
vote by proxy must be witnessed by a third individual who is not the appointed proxy. The proxy must then take
the application to the returning ofcer and be issued a certifcate to vote; he or she then must bring the certifcate
to an advance poll or regular poll and cast a ballot on behalf of the voter.
In 2002 the association reported that mail-in voting in Ontario was under consideration. Seven years later, we have
been assured once again that the matter is being reviewed. While absentee voting rights have been improved and
extended elsewhere in Canada and around the world, Ontarians are falling relatively behind.
Legislation to set fxed provincial general election dates in Ontario (the frst Thursday in October every four years)
was passed on December 15, 2005. The next provincial election is scheduled to be held in October, 2011.
Change since last report:
None.
Recommendations:
Amend the Elections Act to join the rest of North America by allowing mail-in voting. Allow
electronic application for mail-in votes. While not setting a frm deadline, clearly communicate the last day by
which travellers’ applications should be received in order to ensure that they obtain their ballots in sufcient time
to send them back. Accept mail-in ballots that have been post-marked prior to the close of the polls.
AVAILABILITY OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
C
(2006: C)
Health-related travel information is extensive but difcult to locate. There are good fact sheets on out-of-country
and drug plan coverage but it would be far better if they were in a single, self-contained pamphlet for travellers.
All of the current information can be found on-line but it takes some digging and it is not obvious where the infor-
mation is located. The Elections Ontario website provides comprehensive information on proxy voting including
access to printable on-line forms. Information can be found in the “Frequently Asked Questions” section as well as
the “Voters” section of the website. Due to the complexity of proxy voting the information is quite detailed.
Change since last report
:
None. Elsewhere in Canada, websites have improved and become more user-friendly
since our last report, but when it comes to information for travellers Ontario’s health ministry has not kept pace.
Recommendations:
Consolidate health information for travellers into a single pamphlet that is available on-line,
at government ofces and through travel organizations.
2006 C-
Grade