Alberta families will be able to visit many of Alberta’s historic sites and museums, including the Royal Tyrrell Museum, for free as the province celebrates Alberta Culture Days, September 25-27.
    Alberta Culture Days is part of the national Culture Days movement. It includes more than 800 communities, from coast to coast, and is helping to increase the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities.
    “Alberta Culture Days is a celebration of our province’s art, heritage and communities. I encourage all Albertans to get out and visit one of our historic sites or museums. This is a perfect opportunity to share Alberta’s culture with more people, and grow a stronger appreciation for all the things that make this province great,” David Eggen, Minister of Culture and Tourism.
    There are all kinds of activities at the Tyrrell this weekend including Dinosite, a visit to a site to search for fossils, the Seven Wonders of the Badlands guided tour, and the ever popular Storytime, to name a few.

    The general federal election is shaping up to be one of the most contested in recent history, and to make voting day go smoothly, Elections Canada is urging citizens to register.
    To make sure you are eligible to vote and to receive your voter information card, Elections Canada is making it easier than ever.
    “If you have voted in the past, and have gone in and shown ID, you are probably on the electors list,” said Leanne Nyirfa, spokesperson for Elections Canada. “But if you have moved or are a first time voter, it is really a good idea to go online to www.elections.ca to see of you are registered, and if you are not, register online. This is the first time voters can register online.”
    If you are not registered, you will not receive a voter information card when they are mailed out from September 23- 25.
    “It makes it a lot easier because it will tell you where your poll location is,” she said. “It doesn’t take too much time to put your postal code in, see if you are registered and if not, you can register online.”
    She said if a person has trouble registering, or are not comfortable using a computer, a perspective voter can call Elections Canada at 1-800-463-6868.
    Just because you are registered and receive your voter information card, doesn’t mean you have satisfied your identification requirements.
    “The voter identification rules have remained virtually the same since they were introduced in 2007. There are some slight variations,” said Nyirfa. “Voters need to prove their identity and their address when they go to the polls.  And there are a number of ways to do that.”
    Voters can use a single government identification that has a photo such as a drivers license. If a voter cannot satisfy this, they can show two pieces of identification, and at least one must have a current address. This could be anything from a library card, a phone bill or a personal cheque.
    If a voter does not have a formal proof of address, they will accept a letter of confirmation issued by the administrator of a student residence, a senior residence, long term care facility or even a shelter.
    As a last resort, a voter without proof of address can present two pieces of identification and ask another voter that has proper identification, to take an oath attesting the address only. In previous years, a voter without the right identification could have another voter vouch for both name and address.
    A list of eligible identification is available at www.elections.ca, or by calling 1-800-463-6868.
    Election day is Monday, October 19. Advance polls take place from Friday, October 9 to Monday, October 12.