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Advance polls for the May 2 election falls over the four-day Easter weekend, the holiest period in the Christian calendar and start of Passover for the Jewish faith. But it doesn't seem to be an election issue for leaders of Catholic, Anglican and Jewish-Canadians.

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper chose May 2 as Election Day, it meant that the section of the Canada Elections Act that dictates how many days ahead of the actual election that advance polls are to held, automatically put them over the Easter weekend.

The consensus among religious leaders, howeverm is that in this case the earthly law – the Canada Elections Act – trumps holy days and therefore must be obeyed.

Grace Lake, spokesperson for Elections Canada in Toronto said the advance polling days are sacrosanct and ordained by Section 171. (2) of the Canada Elections Act which reads: " An advance poll shall only be open between the hours of noon and 8:00 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Monday, the 10th, 9th and 7th days, respectively, before polling day."

Unfortunately, for the May 2 election, those are Friday April 22, Saturday April 23, and Monday April 25 – Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Monday respectively.

"Elections Canada is aware of the situation," Lake said. "But the Chief Electoral Officer did not set the dates of the advance polls … it cannot be changed, it is legislated."

And that is exactly the view Bernie Farber, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress is taking.

"Elections Canada cannot fashion its calendar of polling days around the faith community," he said. "We wish it were another time, but it cannot be. It is law.

"It's the law, and Canada is not a Jewish or Christian state, it is a secular state," he said.

He pointed out that the election campaign is running through the entire time of Passover and there are Jewish candidates running in the elections.

Farber said for his faith community, Friday – Good Friday – is not a problem, and neither is Sunday. However Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath and Passover runs this year from April 18 to 26, which may be a problem for devout followers of the Jewish faith.

According to the website Virtual Jewish Library, the eight-day festival of Passover is celebrated in the early spring, from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan. It commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.

The first two days commemorate the splitting of the Red Sea and are full-fledged holidays, as are the final two days. These are the holiest of days.

Farber said Jews who celebrate Passover and who will not be able to vote on Saturday and Monday, can do so on Friday.

The Anglican Church in Canada has made no formal protest; however the matter could come at the House of Bishops, said Archdeacon Paul Feheley, principal secretary to Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

"If we had our druthers, we would rather not have a poll on Good Friday, but some other items (in the election campaign) are far more important than a Good Friday vote," Feheley said

"To our minds it is not an important question."

There are 30 Anglican dioceses across Canada and each has the right to choose whether or not its church buildings can be used for voting on the advance polling days, he said.

In a letter to the members of the church in Canada, the Archbishop urged them to engage the candidates on several issues that the church and its ecumenical and interfaith partners, has prioritized.

The Archbishop pointed out that with 4.3 million Canadians living in poverty and 150,000 people homeless, people should urgently call on all parties to commit to establishing a poverty reduction fund, a long-term housing strategy, social security initiatives, and increased child tax credits.

He also urged all parties to commit to implementation of Canada's November 2010 endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

"In honouring that commitment, Canada needs a comprehensive plan for adequate housing, health care and education in Aboriginal communities. Conditions in many of them are absolutely deplorable and must be addressed. We also note with grave concern the alarmingly high rate of suicide among Indigenous peoples. Canada must adopt a national suicide prevention strategy, as all other G8 countries have done. "

He urged the church members to engage candidates on personal and party commitment to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. That was established to hear, record and preserve the story of the Indian Residential Schools system,

Candidates should also be quizzed on their commitment to adopting a comprehensive climate action plan with firm targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions: from 25% to 40% by 2020.

"We must prioritize long-term environmental sustainability and implement concrete plans to ensure global temperatures do not exceed a 2 degree centigrade increase," the Archbishop wrote.

"With respect to our place in the world, we would encourage renewed commitment to international development assistance that pushes forward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Let us rise to new heights in our resolve to work for human rights, democracy and peace among all peoples."

Other than warning Elections Canada that Catholic church premises may not be available because of Easter-oriented activities, and asking that Catholics involved in the advance polling process be allowed adequate time for their devotional activity, the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Most Reverend Pierre Morissette has no objection.

In a letter to Marc Mayrand, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Morissette pointed out that the holiest days of the Christian calendar are Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, which fall this year April 21 to 24.

"Following a number of calls received from Catholics in various places across the country, I am writing to express the following concern on behalf of Elections Canada staff and volunteers who may be required to prepare or staff polling stations on Holy Thursday, Good Friday or Holy Saturday," Morissette wrote.

"We would ask that Elections Canada ensure accommodations are readily provided for any staff or volunteers wishing to participate in prayer and worship on those days."

A copy of the letter was also sent to Harper.

In addition to this, said Neil MacCarthy, director of Public Relations and Communications for the Archdiocese of Toronto, dioceses had been told not to make premises such as church halls available as advance polling stations.

This was not because the church had violent objection to the polls being held on Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Monday, MacCarthy said. It was because the demands on space by church activities that take place during Holy Week and Easter Weekend.