There is no statutory authority for the Chief Electoral Officer to prevail upon school boards or schools. We do offer carrots, in the sense that we pay good Canadian money for rental.
We also try to address their concerns, which are really related to the security of the children in their charge, by hiring additional security guards to control traffic whenever they indicate any kind of requirement to us in that respect.
What occurred in your riding happened not only in your riding. We are experiencing it in very significant terms. I had to strike special deals with the school board of the City of Montreal, for example. They were very cooperative, but there is now an initial reluctance on the part of schools to make the schools available.
What we're trying to emphasize is that we will reach out to them. We will pay them for that; we will provide additional security at Elections Canada's charge and continue to hope it works.
If it continues to happen in large numbers, I think we'll have to either try to find other places or try to prevail upon the schools; however, to do so legally--federally--is going to be very difficult, because these are not federal institutions.