Elections Modernization Act  It seems that there may have been a mistake and that the hon. member's use of the term “carte électorale” was interpreted incorrectly. In English, it could mean an electoral map. It could also mean a voter identification card. That is also “carte” in French. I think maybe the interpreter made a mistake. That is why the answer given by the hon. member for Lethbridge was not on topic. I am grateful to the hon. member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles for raising a point of order.

Elections Modernization Act  We know that when people get to the polls they have to establish their identity and a voter information card by itself would not suffice. However, if there was such a problem with voter identification cards, we would see cases of voter fraud. We have not seen any. The only cases of voter fraud we have seen have involved the robocall scandal that took place under the previous government.

Elections Modernization Act  There was a widespread understanding across Canada that what the Harper government did was very undemocratic. A good example of that was the voter identification card. Elections Canada itself had expressed a great deal of concern about issues in that regard. It was in a fact a tool that many Canadians genuinely would liked to have used.

Elections Modernization Act  It was great to hear my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton question what we are going to do about voter identification cards. Can voters could go in with voter ID cards they received in the mail and show their Costco card to prove they are Canadian? For many years I worked as a campaign manager and worked in an office talking to different people about what they needed.

Elections Modernization Act  If we take a look at the amount of time that was spent on Bill C-23, it is a fraction of what we have been able to spend on Bill C-76. It is important to let members of this House know that a voter identification card is information, and that information is important. Only Canadian citizens can vote in a Canadian election and that is the way it should be.

Elections Modernization Act  There is a high probability of those being misused. How can my colleague argue for the use of the voter information card as a voter identification card?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No Canadian should face barriers to voting, whether they live abroad, are in the Canadian Forces, are studying at university or are without a fixed address. Reinstating the voter identification card as a proof of residency means making voting easier for more Canadians. Restoring the option of vouching for another eligible Canadian means making voting easier for more Canadians.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  One, do you appreciate that students are in a different position in this, because they don't have the plethora of ID that other people have? Two, that the evidence that we've heard is that with the voter identification cards, there is no fraud. So, if you were given that assurance, that fraud was not an issue with the voter identification cards, would you support it? Do you recognize that students are in a different position because they don't have ID with their address on it?

Elections Modernization Act  As I referred to in my speech, 172,000 people in the 2011 election, according to Statistics Canada, cited lack of identification as the reason they did not vote. We are not suggesting the voter identification card is the only piece of identification that voters present. However, there are people, particularly a number of first nations people, who do not have any form of ID and need to rely on the voter identification card and vouching.

Elections Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, much of my colleague's comments focused on what he called the voter identification card. Elections Canada has been very clear that it is not a voter identification card but a voter information card, and that it has not been allowed. With over 980,000 instances of incorrect information on these cards, I wonder how my colleague can actually say that the voter information card is a valid piece of ID.

Elections Canada  That is why Elections Canada recommended the restoration of both voter identification cards and vouching. That is what we are doing. Unlike the Conservatives, we think democracy is stronger when more Canadians participate in it.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I was a DRO and saw people coming in with voter identification cards, and on subsequent requests for further identification it was clear they were a different person. In some cases they were eligible to vote; in other cases it was a problem, shall we say.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I don't want to press this too hard, but in the United States, where there is an active—at least according to the media—exercise of voter suppression, getting rid of something like the voter identification card seems to have been a key part of what they were doing. We don't need voter suppression in Canada. We need voter participation. Reinstating this, and public education on the part of the Chief Electoral Officer and Elections Canada, are important things that were removed in Bill C-23 that Bill C-76 proposes to return.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In particular, we commend the restored role of Elections Canada and the Chief Electoral Officer in providing public information during elections and measures to ensure that every qualified Canadian may take part in riding elections of a Parliament in Canada. We recommend restoring the voter identification card issued by EC as acceptable identification of voters at the polls. We note that in other places and countries, requirements for photo ID and other limitations have had the effect of limiting voter participation and have been described as voter suppression in some sources.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We have to do what we can to make it easier, not make it harder and put standards on them, given they may not want to take extra steps. If you were assured that the voter identification cards were not fraudulent, that they could be relied on, would you then say that you would accept those as a piece of identification for students?