Privilege  It does not constitute a case of trying to mislead anyone about anything. It was simply stating a fact. With respect to the voter identification cards, they did indeed exist in 2006. They were used, but they were not authorized to be used as a primary or sole form of identification. They were certainly there. What Elections Canada allows, whether it is voter ID cards, vouching, or whatever, and whether they are not allowed to be used or whether vouching is only supposed to be one for one, does not mean that people are not trying to get around those regulations.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Most of the major ID, such as the example of health cards yesterday, don't have an address in my province, so that becomes very problematic. The voter identification card, however, provided that, as well as utility bills, especially for people in a seniors home. Can you illustrate how difficult this will be? You do make that recommendation, to not throw out vouching, and I agree.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  For instance, the minister mentioned bracelets and this type of ID. It's supplementary because it's the address that made sense here and the voter identification card was used quite extensively and I'm assuming it was in NWT as well. Following Mr. Archer's story, I didn't give you a chance to weigh in on that.

Business of Supply  Unless a person has fraudulent ID to prove that he or she is someone else, one cannot use a voter identification card to prove who one is. Unless the member is intent on committing fraud, which people are going to be able to do no matter what, regardless of whether there is a voter information card available, this whole business of removing the possibility of using a voter information card is a big red herring, and we really ought to get to the real problem, which we have identified.

Business of Supply  Voter turnout is already very low. The government is going to require more from people when voter identification cards make things so simple. Voters are used to them. Voter cards were sent to people based on census data. People were identified and received their card. There is perhaps a certain margin of error—there always is—but voters were used to this process and were used to going to the polling station with the card, which was valid and accepted.

Business of Supply  They want to make it harder for people who do not vote Conservative to vote at all. Hundreds of thousands of Canadians rely on vouching and voter identification cards to prove that they have the right to vote. This is especially true for young people, new Canadians, aboriginal people, and seniors living in residence. Bill C-23 would put an end to vouching practices.

Business of Supply  The Conservatives are hoping that only people who vote Conservative are able to vote in the next election. It is clear that the elimination of vouching and the voter identification card will disenfranchise many Canadians who may or may not vote for the Conservatives. My question to my colleague is this. We have seen cuts to the programs that encourage Canadian voters.

Business of Supply  Neufeld have to say about the hon. minister holding up his report as justification for denying the use of voter identification cards? He said, and I quote: I think any fair-minded person who reads that report would come to the conclusion that [the minister] has not been fair in his assessment of my findings.

Business of Supply  Speaker, there is nothing wrong with the fact that more ID is now eligible, but herein lies the problem. I think the government is being overly egregious about eliminating the voter identification card. Why do I say that? It is because of the address that is affixed to it. My health card, MCP, Newfoundland and Labrador, does not have an address on it. Many IDs do not have addresses on them.

Business of Supply  Was it something that Elections Canada officials were not aware they had to do at the time, but the vouching was purely legitimate? These questions were not explored. We say that the voter identification card, along with the system of vouching itself, does need improving. That is why we are here: to debate amendments that would improve the system. However, we should not throw something out simply because it contains inefficiencies.

Business of Supply  For example, the Chief Electoral Officer made recommendations to address the potential problems with the voter identification cards and the vouching system. He made some excellent suggestions. For example, he suggested that the government give him the power to hire people earlier and that they be better training.

Democratic Reform  Did the minister hear Marc Mayrand's proposals and will he accept his recommendations concerning the voter identification card?

Democratic Reform  Speaker, Harry Neufeld clearly contradicted the Conservatives and the Minister of State for Democratic Reform. He says there is not a shred of evidence that voter identification card problems alleged by the government actually happened. He says that the minister has been using that statement, the one he just quoted, out of context and inaccurately. Why does the government not ask Harry Neufeld to appear in order to shed light on what he really thinks?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, they're not voter identification cards—

Privilege  He was very passionate about that and was making a strong point about the fact that vouching and voter identification cards are both open to irregularities and abuse. That is what is really important. That is why the fair elections act has been brought forward, and that is why we need to pass the bill.