Procedure and House Affairs Committee on June 15th, 2006

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

What does paragraph 11(d) say?

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

I'm actually going to bring it over so you can see it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Section 11 says, “Any of the following persons may vote in accordance with Part 11.” Paragraph 11(d) says, “A person who has been absent from Canada for less than five consecutive years and who intends to return to Canada as a resident.”

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Therefore, if they're away for over five years, Mr. Chair, they're excluded.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

That's what it is saying. So I'm suggesting we delete the clause.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

We delete that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

I'm just going to allow Mr. Proulx to be clear, and then we'll move on, because I want everybody to hear this.

We're going to continue discussion here now that that is over.

Monsieur Guimond, and then Monsieur Godin.

Did you want to say something, Mr. Guimond?

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

There is much confusion. Does the Chief Electoral Officer wish to give them back their right to vote, even if they have left the country? What is the meaning of this amendment?

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Yes. He wants to give them back their right to vote if they plan on returning to Canada, even after an absence of more than five years.

I would therefore suggest that we delete paragraph 11 d). In this way, there would no longer be any exclusion for Canadian citizens having lived outside the country for more than five years.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

My colleague, Pauline Picard, mentioned the case of a NATO military attaché who was posted to Brussels for seven years and that of a diplomat who spent five years in Morocco and three years in Tunisia. Would these people lose their right to vote? That is absurd!

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Mr. Godin, and then I think we've got a consensus on this.

Mr. Godin.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Chairman, we need further information in this regard.

Our researcher might be able to tell us the reason why the legislator decided on five years. Who did the legislator want to exclude at that time?

I would like to give you an example. Our country welcomes a lot of immigrants and these people obtain their Canadian citizenship. If they go back to their native country after ten years and never return to Canada, are we going to authorize them to vote in Canada until they die simply because they are Canadian citizens?

I would simply like to know why this was set at five years. Could there be exceptions for the military, diplomats, etc.?

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Order, please.

Mr. Robertson.

[James Robertson]

Until the 1990s, provision was made in the act for people who were working for the Canadian government and who were posted abroad. If you were part of the military, if you were working as a diplomat, if you were working for a United Nations or other agency, you had the right to vote in Canadian elections. No other persons living abroad were entitled to vote.

In the early 1990s, I believe as a result of the recommendation of the Lortie commission and the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the act was amended to allow citizens who are abroad for less than five years and are planning to come back to vote. I think the five years was brought in because there was a feeling there needed to be some connection and intention to return, and because it was an extension of a rule, that previously people had not been allowed to vote if they lived outside the country.

At this point in time there would be no problem that I see with removing either the five-year limitation or, if you wish, removing the requirement that they intend to return to Canada. It was just that in the early 1990s, because they were bringing in a new rule, a new provision, they built in those two requirements.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Mr. Hill.

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

I want the question. Put it to a vote.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Oh, you want the question, I'm sorry.

Well, let's put it to a vote. What I'm sensing from the committee is that the simple solution is to eliminate this particular clause, just to eliminate it.

All in favour, please signify.

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Thank you. It's gone.

Section 1.17 may again be dealing with the ability to have mobile polling stations. Let me just read it to the committee:

1.17 Review of Special Voting Rules

Currently, the special voting rules in sections 231 to 243.1 of the Canada Elections Act allow voting by special ballot only in four cases: electors temporarily residing outside Canada, Armed Forces electors, incarcerated electors, and electors residing in Canada. The procedures established for special ballots effectively exclude many electors who may be unable to exercise the vote, such as persons unexpectedly admitted to hospital in the days leading up to polling day. The Chief Electoral Officer calls for a far-ranging review of these rules to consider whether they are appropriate in light of changing technologies and expectations.

I believe the committee and certainly some of the parties that presented here encouraged a greater use of special ballots. We have discussed mobile polling stations. Are there any comments, or should we...?

Mrs. Redman, and then Mr. Preston.

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I believe this is the appropriate section to deal with this. I have some notes from Nancy Karetak-Lindell talking about some of the special issues that happen in the far north. Clearly, weather is a huge issue. Nancy puts in her notes that she had electors who were stuck because of weather in Iqaluit until January 23, which was the day of the election, and they therefore missed the advance polls in other regions.

They're often asked to go to other communities, because they have no roads up there, which causes some people to incur a cost of $600 to fly to another community because that's where the polling station is. She mentions people in Clyde River who had to go to Pond Inlet to do the advance poll. Again, they had to pay for the flight.

I think it's unique to Nunavut. I don't know if there are similar cases in other northern ridings, but I know for Nancy it has been an ongoing concern. She said that through the past four elections, after every election she has made presentations to Elections Canada and nothing has changed. So I would hope that if we're able to, we can maybe seize on this opportunity.

She also cites voters who have to go out of the community for health care, and very often, if they only speak their native tongue, they will have to have another family member go with them. It happened that one couple was unable to vote because they had to fly to Toronto for some medical attention. I think that's just a reality of living in the far north.

The other huge issue for her is that while everyone recognizes that we have two official languages, there are many people in her communities who speak their native tongue, and not having interpretation and not having ballots and other information in that language is a huge handicap for them, and actually can, in some cases, disenfranchise them.

She's also asking if there could not be more flexibility in having people in the community designated to vouch for these people, rather than asking them to fly to other communities such as Iqaluit where the deputy returning officer is; that they be able to have people deputized to identify them, to take the identification, and to explain that there may be situations beyond their control, such as weather, where they had every good intention of meeting the deadlines or going indeed to where Elections Canada would have them go but they're unable to.

She also states--and this isn't the right section, but if people will indulge me, I'll just put it on the record--that as a candidate, she has a real problem with getting her documentation signed. We've already covered off the fact that there are fewer signatures needed in places such as Nunavut. It's very difficult. She has to fax the papers and physically ship them counter to counter by air, which again can sometimes put a candidate in jeopardy or delay when they're actually the official candidate.

So I'd like to have a discussion as to how we can perhaps, under this section, make some accommodations. I see nodding heads, so there must be other communities that are remote that are dealing with some of these issues as well.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Indeed...folks who have had heart attacks or something tragic and are in the hospital and aren't capable of getting out that day.

Mr. Preston, and then Monsieur Proulx.

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

We're asking for the special ballot to be used up until election day to handle the case you just mentioned, of someone who went to hospital under an emergency situation.

But I'm not certain we couldn't also handle most of Ms. Karetak-Lindell's problems with the transfer certificate we've also talked about. They could present themselves at any poll and show that it's through extraordinary circumstances that they're at that poll. Then a transfer certificate should be able to be issued by the deputy returning officer at that poll and they'd be allowed to vote there.

We didn't do that under transfer certificates, but it may be a case where we can catch this.

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Some communities have no polls.

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

So there are some places where there isn't a poll. Okay, I understand, then, the use of the special ballots right up to the end. So they can be received within what period of time after the election, or something to that effect, then.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Mr. Proulx, and then Mr. Reid.