Procedure and House Affairs committee  Going back to the voter information card again, am I right in saying that's the only piece of federal identification—a thorough federal identification—that exists currently across the country?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Then other aspects of the bill would then facilitate, for example, the receiving of voter information cards once you're registered, so you would have a piece of ID that you could then take to the polls at the same time.

Business of Supply  Let me give some examples: the idea that the Chief Electoral Officer could not promote elections to adults, could not go out there and advocate for people getting to vote; the issue of people who were disenfranchised by not being able to use a voter information card; the issue around vouching; the issue of getting young people registered on the voters' list so that they are ready to vote when they become of age, so they are given the resources so they can turn out to vote.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Christopherson's comments, I was really pleased to see that one of the recommendations was to reverse the ban on using voter information cards as a form of identification. Could you perhaps outline or elaborate on the importance of the voter information card and could you describe how its use as identification could impact some groups of Canadians—perhaps Canadians in remote areas, people who are in long-term care facilities, or even our indigenous communities?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The voter information card is the main instrument through which electors find out when the election is, when they can vote, and where they go to vote. It's an essential document that is sent across the country to each and every elector who is registered.

Electoral Reform committee  It is difficult for them to properly identify themselves. Those people should have a voter information card. I think that it exists, but it is not well-known or used. That could be a democratic way to encourage more people, especially seniors, to vote, even though seniors tend to be the ones who vote the most, as we know.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm from Peterborough—Kawartha, one of the oldest CMAs in Canada, where there are a lot of retirement residences, a lot of long-term care facilities. There were seniors who showed up with their voter information card during the last election thinking that they could use it as ID, and they were turned away.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The first two reforms focus on making it easier for eligible Canadians to vote. Ultimately, it would increase voter participation through reinstating the voter information card and the vouching process. The third reform is about engaging Canadians through education about Canada's electoral process. The fourth, and this is something that I've heard across the country, is about engaging youth further by providing an opportunity for Elections Canada to pre-register youth ages 14 to 17, so that they can be invited to be part of the democratic institutions at an earlier age.

Bill C-33 An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

SUMMARY This enactment amends the Canada Elections Act to (a) remove limitations on public education and information activities conducted by the Chief Electoral Officer; (b) establish a Register of Future Electors in which Canadian citizens 14 to 17 years of age may consent to be included; (c) authorize the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to provide the Chief Electoral Officer with information about permanent residents and foreign nationals for the purpose of updating the Register of Electors; (d) remove the prohibition on the Chief Electoral Officer authorizing the notice of confirmation of registration (commonly known as a “voter information card”) as identification; (e) replace, in the context of voter identification, the option of attestation for residence with an option of vouching for identity and residence; (f) remove two limitations on voting by non-resident electors: the requirement that they have been residing outside Canada for less than five consecutive years, and the requirement that they intend to return to Canada to resume residence in the future; and (g) relocate the Commissioner of Canada Elections to within the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, and provide that the Commissioner is to be appointed by the Chief Electoral Officer, after consultation with the Director of Public Prosecutions, for a non-renewable term of 10 years.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  This is for electors who are properly registered and who show up at the advance poll with their ID and their voter information card.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  If you're not registered or if you need to change your registration, you would still have to sign the traditional forms that in those cases you have to fill in. It's really to deal with the mainstream electors who come with their ID and voter information cards and are at the right place. Currently you have to search the paper registry. You have to enter into a book, by hand, the name and the address, and you have to have it signed.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Instead of doing it at a specific table, it could be done any of the tables in a polling place. In fact, when a voter appeared with her voter information card, a barcode could be scanned and automatically make the connection with the electronic electoral list. As the voter progressed through the process, her name would be struck and she would be registered as having received a ballot or having voted, depending on the stage she had reached.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  With respect to the voter ID cards, I know many of us saw that there were people—indigenous people, seniors, people who don't have a driver's licence, people experiencing homelessness, and some of the most vulnerable in our population—who weren't able to vote because they weren't able to use the voter information cards. Do you have statistics or evidence or anything that would show the extent to which this impacted voter turnout in the last election and how this kind of a change would actually help?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We know from past experience that it has been useful for specific groups to rely on the voter information card to establish their address.

Electoral Reform committee  I now understand why seniors sometimes come to polling stations without photo ID. I am grasping the problem better. In the past, I know that we could bring a voter information card that showed our identity, but I understand that a law was passed that no longer allows us to do that. Is that so?