Procedure and House Affairs committee  Often, these people don't have identification. So there is a voter information card. In the past, a targeted review was done. The person was told that we were going to register them. We came back two weeks later, and asked them to prove that they did, indeed, live there.

Democratic Reform  It was for this reason that the Chief Electoral Officer authorized the use of the voter information card, commonly known as the “VIC”, in several pilot projects. When the VIC is used as proof of address, together with another document proving identity, it will help electors who otherwise may have difficulty meeting the identification requirements.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  This is essentially that voter information cards are not an acceptable form of ID. We have just seen in the media this week examples of refugee claimants who received voter eligibility cards in the mail. If they were to not say anything, complete them and send them in, they would receive voter information cards and be on the electorate list.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  A number of the provisions in this bill were implemented in Ontario, and I am highly supportive of them. I specifically want to highlight the provision that allows voter information cards as a piece of identification. The voter information card is a staple of electoral administration and, in my humble opinion, a core piece of the Canadian electoral fabric. The voter information card unites every elector group, giving them the confidence that they are registered, and provides them with the information they require to cast their ballot.

Elections Modernization Act  I never mentioned boundaries or maps. In my question, I was actually referring to the voter information card. The translation is very important. It seems that that is not what the translator heard. When I asked my hon. colleague the question, I actually spoke about voter information cards.

Elections Modernization Act  Voters can bring in two pieces of identification and individuals who know them are able to vouch for them that they are in fact who they claim to be and live at the address that they claim to live at. With all of these options available to voters, why would the government add the voter information card which Elections Canada acknowledges has a high error rate? Canadians need to show legal identification when buying a case of beer or a package of cigarettes or to board a plane.

Elections Modernization Act  The Harper Conservatives attempted to build a case of fear and distrust in our elections through Bill C-23 with the removal of the use of the voter information card to prove address as they felt it was being used by voters to vote multiple times, which as we know, is simply not true. We now see the same fear and divisionary tactics by members of the former Conservative government now being used by the opposition with its proposed amendments.

Elections Modernization Act  Let me assure members, many senior citizens who are living with relatives, who may not have a valid driver's licence or do not have bills addressed in their name would be greatly helped by the use of the voter information card in order to provide a proof of address. Other examples include Canadians who have their mail sent to a PO box, or students who are often in precarious living situations while studying.

Elections Modernization Act  I am sure my colleague has heard from constituents in his riding about the concerns they have on using the voter information cards as a voter ID card.

Elections Modernization Act  Madam Speaker, I want to go back to the beginning of the member's speech and make some very clear distinctions around the voter information card. To be clear to anybody who is listening or who inadvertently received a card frm Elections Canada, the voter information card is not a piece of ID and it is an offence under the Canada Elections Act for a non-citizen to vote or for a non-citizen to register to vote when they know they are not able to do so.

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?

Elections Modernization Act  We made important commitments to Canadians surrounding the use of vouching and the voter information card. Those are returned in Bill C-76. I travelled across the country and heard from people who were unable to cast their ballot in the last election because of those changes the Conservatives made previously.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Sure. This essentially just goes back to a voter information card not being an acceptable form of ID. Even with supplementary identification, we're very concerned that someone could just go and get a library card or a Costco card and use it as a supplementary form of identification.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No, of course. Bill C-76 would lift the prohibition on identifying the voter information card as one of the potential pieces of identification that can be used, but if these amendments are passed, someone presenting himself or herself with a voter information card at a poll will always have to show at least a second piece of identification to prove his or her identity.

Elections Modernization Act  That is really important to recognize. Second, he called it a voter identification card. It is not. It is a voter information card. All it is is proof of residence that must be used with another piece of ID. Those are really important things to make sure people understand. This is not a card we would get in the mail that could be used as identification.