Procedure and House Affairs committee  If your neighbour didn't have the correct ID, your neighbour couldn't vouch for you either. So I think what we've identified here is that vouching and voter information cards aren't necessarily the answers to things here. What the answers are is better education, and the reason why—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The problem with VICs, as explained by a couple of witnesses, is that they're pretty unreliable, particularly voter information cards going to on-reserve recipients. So one of the provisions in this bill was to try to alleviate that problem and make it as easy as possible to show proof of residence. With a status card and a letter from either a band council member, a chief, or a band administrator, you would be able to use those together as identification and proof of identity and cast a ballot.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Voter information card.... See my friends have confused you.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I simply know that on first nation communities, similar with the vouching as it is with the voter information cards, that they are useful tools. They're useful tools given the housing situation, given the socio-economic status, given the lack of ID, the primary ID being a status card, which does not have the home address on it.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That was one of the big problems. Aboriginal persons had a card that did not prove their address. The voter's information card fills that gap and allows more aboriginal persons to go and vote. Do you agree with that?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That doesn't mean we shouldn't work to fix those databases, but my view is that the voter information card for first nations is a very useful tool. I'm not aware of any fraud, any issues, or any challenges based on the use of those in past elections.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Everybody knows the Chief Electoral Officer has the authority to designate ID. Voter information cards were designated the last time. There's no—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Chair, the Chief Electoral Officer has the authority to designate ID. He had designated voter information cards to approximately one million people in 2011. The idea that's being suggested or implied that this was not acceptable or authorized in 2011 is wrong. The second thing is that the Chief Electoral Officer testified that with an accuracy rate of 90%, the VIC is likely the most accurate and widely available government document.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  They have done a very poor job of telling you such basic things as: where you should vote; what should happen if you're not on the voters list; what you do if you don't get a voter information card or if it has the wrong information on it; at what times you can vote, I think; what means you have, aside from the election day poll, for voting; and so on. These are all listed and mandated.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  But again, you don't need to go down the route of prohibiting vouching or the use of voter information cards, both of which would do the opposite and actually suppress young people, mobile populations, seniors who don't have a driving licence with an address on it, or other groups who might be mobile and don't have those particular forms of ID.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Secondly, on voting rights and turnout, I think the committee has heard much discussion about vouching and the use of voter information cards. Quite simply, I don't believe that voter fraud is a major problem. If the Canadian Parliament believes that it is a problem, there are far more effective ways it can use to reduce problems of voter impersonation.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  CCLA's biggest concern about Bill C-23 is the proposal to do away with vouching and to preclude use of the voter information card as a form of identification. We know that over 100,000 Canadians established their identity by vouching in the last election. There are very strong reasons to believe that these individuals will be disenfranchised if Bill C-23 passes as it currently stands.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the troubles with the voter information card are patently evident, and the member can find out about them on Elections Canada's own website. The agency admits that in the last election there were errors in one in six cards.

Democratic Reform  It is not only elections commissioners who are concerned by the bill; it is the commissioner for Ontario as well. He is concerned about voter information cards. The minister would have known this if only he had consulted. Why did he not even bother consulting provincial elections officials who also have expertise in this area?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Having said all of that, I have a question for Ms. Bergeron. I wanted to ask about the voter information card, which is of course the piece of mail that arrives telling you that they think the person living at this house is you. In my case, I get a card saying that they think the person at the address is Scott Reid and where to go to vote.