Canada Elections Act  It would be their right to take their names off that central registry and it does not affect their right to vote. I think that is a good balance. Also the Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. Kingsley, once the bill is passed, may enter into extensive information lectures to educate and inform the Canadian public about what this really means. This has the somewhat conditional but more or less major support of all members of all parties in the standing committee.

Canada Elections Act  I want to thank all the members of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs as well as Mr. Kingsley, the Chief Electoral Officer, and his staff for their contribution and efforts in carrying out this project. The permanent register, which would eliminate door to door enumeration, together with a shortened election period would save the federal government about $30 million for each federal general election.

The Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act  Ed Broadbent of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, and Mr. Jean-Pierre Kingsley of Elections Canada. Canada was also among the first to express concern at the severe sentence handed down last year against Cuban human rights activist Francisco Chaviano. We have also responded very strongly to the harassment early this year of the Concilio Cubano, an emerging coalition of human rights activists.

Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms  Jean-Claude Léger, director of operations, office of the Chief Electoral Officer, to the procedure and House affairs committee on April 21, 1994, 6,800 inmates used special voting rules. According to testimony of the Chief Elector Officer, Mr. Jean-Pierre Kingsley, to the same committee, there were 7,502 incarcerated electors. The cost per elector was $23.81 compared with the cost of $9.38 for the average registered elector outside the penal system.

Committees Of The House  As a new member of the House I am delighted that committees now have this power to develop and bring forward legislation of this and other types. I would also like to thank the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Mr. Jean-Pierre Kingsley, his staff and the staff of the committee and all the witnesses who appeared before the committee, including fellow members of this House, for their expertise and advice which were invaluable in assisting the committee in its consideration of the various complex and sensitive issues with which that committee had to deal.

Committees Of The House  First of all, as was mentioned earlier, we had excellent support in committee and out in the field from Elections Canada. Mr. Kingsley, Mr. Girard and Mr. Lesage were very helpful to the committee. It is also necessary to mention that the electoral redistribution commissions have transacted their work quite faithfully under quite difficult circumstances during all of this and should be complimented.

Committees Of The House  Some very good proposals were set aside because the majority was not willing to listen to other members and participants on the committee. Particularly I would like to commend the staff of Elections Canada, Mr. Jean-Pierre Kingsley in particular, whose assistance in drafting the bill was invaluable. I would encourage this House to continue using the committee procedure that we used in the future. It was also a pleasure to work specifically with the chair of the committee that was very fair in hearing all sides of the presentations with regard to this matter.

Committees Of The House  I would also like to thank those who helped us, particularly people from the office of the chief electoral officer, namely Jean-Pierre Kingsley, himself, as well as Jacques Girard and Carol Lesage, who provided incredible and ongoing assistance whenever we sought their help and cooperation. I would also thank colleagues who came to Ottawa in June and July, in the height of summer, to make representations before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

Committees Of The House  Louis-Philippe Côté, for their assistance in the drafting of the bill. I would like to thank the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Jean-Pierre Kingsley, and his staff members, Jacques Girard and Carol Lesage, who assisted the committee in its work. The committee was also assisted by witnesses from across Canada, who came to Ottawa in July when we spent three days discussing ideas and suggestions on redistribution.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act, 1994  The chief electoral commissioner also throughout the regime of Mr. Castonguay constituted himself a member of each electoral commission. Mr. Kingsley interpreting his mandate narrowly and I think correctly abstained from doing this. So there are commissions in a sense sent out on to uncharted seas. One of the problems also as I have said is that there is nothing in the Constitution on this.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act, 1994  It was apparent that the bill had been prepared without consultation with Elections Canada. Mr. Kingsley, the Chief Electoral Officer, has stated in committee hearings that it has always been the practice of the governments of the day to consult Elections Canada when considering changes to such processes and it is what we would have expected normally on this occasion.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act, 1994  We find ourselves in the somewhat uncomfortable situation where provincial commissions have decided on their own authority to sit since, as the Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. Jean-Pierre Kingsley, explained in his testimony before the Committee on Procedure and House Affairs-please refer to page 13 of the Evidence of the March 24, 1994 sitting of the said committee and tabled in this House by its chair, the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands-the provincial commissions have every right to suspend the hearing process, as long as the September 16 deadline is met.