Procedure and House Affairs committee  As I mentioned earlier, I think the ban on signs should apply only to polling day and advance polling days, and not to the various special voting formats, where electors can vote in person at the office of the returning officer. Advertising in the media, on the radio, is not prohibited during the entire polling period at the polling station, so I do not see why this would be any different.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Historically—if we disregard the 100-metre rule—the fact that signs cannot be visibly displayed near polling stations applied mostly to the main voting day and advance voting days. Given the introduction of new formats over the years, having to do with special voting, where an elector can vote in person at the office of their returning officer, people want the rule to also apply to the office of the returning officer.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Take, for example, the by-elections held in Saint-Lambert and Westmount—Ville-Marie. The government called 2 by-elections 30 days before calling a general election. Thirty days later, it called a general election. The government did not fall. It called 2 by-elections, and 30 days later, it superseded them at the very last minute.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In the past, it was more or less left to the discretion of returning officers. The Bloc Québécois, in particular, was penalized during the election in 2006, when all returning officers had been directed not to allow cameras into polling stations. Cameras were not allowed in the polling station when Bloc Québécois leader Mr.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The Bloc Québécois has by-laws that set the ceiling for the expenses of a leadership or nomination candidate. The returning officer of a constituency or at national level has the authority to dismiss someone's candidacy that... The financial report that has to be submitted before the voting period has to give the breakdown of all contributions received and all expenditures and show compliance with the by-laws.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would like to discuss two of the points you raised. In terms of Internet registration, our position is that new projects could be submitted, but as pilot projects. And the committee should first approve them before they are tested. Ideally, we should test these pilot projects more during byelections.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for inviting me. Broadly speaking, the Bloc Québécois is mostly in favour of all the recommendations. I am going to go over about ten of them specifically. In part I, recommendation I.2 on the appointment of deputy returning officers suggests that the deadline for submitting the names for the appointment be moved up.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There was another idea that was mentioned, and it particularly targets youth, who should be targeted. All studies show that political parties play a critical role in terms of actual voter turnout rates. The efforts of political parties during the election campaign and on voting day can actively affect voter turnout.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  You can operate by trial and error in life. You try to solve the problem one way, and if that doesn't work, you try something else. I'd like to refer to two studies by Elections Canada that I would urge you to read. You have in your possession the document entitled Potential impact of extending advanced polling on voter turnout, which clearly states: The fact that advanced polling is facilitated does not have a significant impact on people who do not follow political news events.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I don't have that information. I'm not aware of these figures.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Indeed, one solution could be to conduct advanced polling based on the current rules, and not the rules set out in the bill, in other words several advanced polls could be held in the same location, which is the case with traditional advanced polling. People would be informed that they are able to take part in advanced polling.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, I do.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  One of the solutions we wanted to put forward was to allow the Chief Electoral Officer to do trials during by-elections. The problem of voter turnout is worse during by-elections. Let me remind you of three by-elections that were held: Témiscamingue in 2004 with 29% voter turnout; Lévis in 2004 with 24%; and Berthier in 2002 with 28.6%.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I start from the premise that voter turnout is a problem mainly during by-elections. With respect to general elections, consider the statistics since 1896: the voter turnout rate has been relatively stable. Moreover, declining voter participation rates is a major trend that has been observed internationally and in the western world.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you. We believe that what the bill sets out to do is commendable, but that the ways proposed of achieving this are totally inappropriate. It has already been observed in the past that more advanced polling does not necessarily lead to an overall increase in voter turnout.