Elections Modernization Act  Regrettably, only six gained Liberal support. Major deficiencies remain. They include the use of the voter information card as acceptable voter identification and the Liberal insistence that all non-resident Canadians be allowed to vote, no matter how long they have been away from Canada, no matter whether they have paid taxes in recent years, no matter whether they follow Canadian politics or know the names of political candidates, and no matter whether they ever intend to return to Canada.

Elections Modernization Act  In their response to Parliament and written Question No. 333, Elections Canada and the Privy Council Office said that “there were 986,613 updates to elector information during the revision period which resulted in another Voter Information Card (VIC) being mailed to the elector.” That was during the last election. As well, there were 509,397 individuals who received voter information cards, representing about two per cent of the voter information cards, who proactively advised Elections Canada of incorrect information on the cards.

Elections Modernization Act  It is an information card because that is what it provides: information. It has been stated before that in the 2015 election, 986,613 of those voter information cards had inaccurate information. They were sent to the wrong address or were not complete, yet the Liberals are okay with nearly a million inaccurate voter information cards being used as identification.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would just note that the study actually showed that 7% more people who responded to that survey said they voted than actually voted in reality, so there's an ability to take that with a grain of salt. I would just point out, though, regarding the voter information card in the last election, that more than 900,000 of those cards were sent out with inaccurate information. It's a question of accuracy and having the right information. That's why we don't feel it's appropriate as a form of identity.

Elections Modernization Act  The Chief Electoral Officer has long recommended allowing these cards to be used. The bill before us would allow the Chief Electoral Officer to add the voter information card as an approved form of ID, at his or her discretion. To ensure the continued integrity of the process, an elector would still be required to show an additional piece of identification confirming identity, alongside the voter information card, as was the case prior to the adoption of the so-called Fair Elections Act.

Elections Modernization Act  It has been stated before that, in the 2015 election, 986,613 of these voter information cards had inaccurate information, were sent to the wrong address, or were not complete, yet the Liberals are okay with nearly a million voter information cards being used as identification.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In a declaration, that makes sense. We've talked quite a bit about the voter information card. I'm a big supporter of that, and I realize that the voter information card is not only beneficial to seniors, who often get the attention on this, but also with respect to students.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I want to go to one of the first things you talked about. I couldn't agree with you more about the voter information card, as you put it, being a staple for our voting, the core. I want to thank you for that because I am glad it is returning. Within this legislation we're returning some things that were taken out with prior legislation.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I want to raise the issue of the voter information card. I had this discussion many years ago with Jean-Pierre Kingsley, and I pointed out this out to him. The voter information card does provide information on a person. I guess you could falsify one if you wanted to; I don't think that's happening.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We're going to bring back vouching, a little better than it was under Bill C-23, and restore the use of the voter information card. How long will it take you to set those up to make sure they're in place? Are those things that can be done fairly quickly, or are they in danger if there's a delay?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  This is largely a matter of training, of having the proper manuals in place and making adjustments to the format of the voter information card. All of that can be done, and the work on that has been prepared.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's the only hard data that we have on this matter that we can affirm. Let's be clear. The use of the voter information card at the federal level has occurred in the by-election part of 2011, and in 2011 in specific circumstances. In those circumstances, I'm not aware of any complaints or incidents of alleged fraud using the voter information card.

Elections Modernization Act  Bill C-76 would also increase advanced polling to 12 hours a day so that Canadians can easily vote ahead of election day. It is going to make voting more convenient by letting people use their voter information card, as was previously the norm. In the 2011 election, Elections Canada conducted a pilot project on using the voter information card as a voter ID. Elections Canada, the independent organization that runs our elections, recommended that Canadians be able to use their voter information card.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  They also have their voter information card—and their name on the voter information card must match the name on their other piece of ID. The fact that they are coming to the poll with these two documents together suggests very strongly that they received it at their home, so the level of integrity in that process, to me, is very high.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There were people who were vouched for, for example, and the process of recording the vouching was not properly done. When you look at the voter information card as a piece of identification, it reduces the requirements to rely on vouching. In terms of integrity, I much prefer the voter information card in combination with another piece of ID to the vouching process.