Evidence of meeting #7 for Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) in the 39th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was public.
Liberal
Stephen Owen Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Thank you, Mr. Kingsley. I'd just like to ask for a clarification. Simply, the one issue that I'm not properly understanding is the criterion that would be applied by a judge in providing the authority to release documents at the moment. What sort of a test is it?
Diane Davidson Deputy Chief Electoral Officer and Chief Legal Counsel, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
The test is in the statute; it's in subsection 540(8). The judge would have to be convinced that the inspection of those election documents would be useful for instituting a prosecution of an offence and/or for purposes of a contested election. So the test is very limited. It would have to be demonstrated to the court.
Bloc
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Mr. Kingsley. This is the second time I meet you in the space of a few weeks.
My question deals with the appointment of returning officers. I would like to know how they will be recruited and assessed. Will appointments be based on merit? Will this be a public system? Will there be a competition? I would like you to clarify the appointment procedure for returning officers.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
In Canada, the Chief Electoral Officer has been recruiting and appointing returning officers for a long time. This has been going on in Quebec for about the last 25 years, as well as in Manitoba, British Columbia and elsewhere. In fact this is the way it is done in most jurisdictions. The federal government is one of the last ones to adopt this process.
The wording of the bill — which I fully support — calls for a merit-based-appointment process. Merit must be the key factor, and this means that, when a position becomes available for whatever reason, a public notice of competition will be made. At that time, we will provide selection criteria and a description of the process on our website and elsewhere. By virtue of the legislation, this information will also be given to the Speaker of the House. A selection committee composed of stakeholders in the electoral process will be struck. I did not use the word “public servants” because the people who sit on the committee will probably be people who already work in the electoral system in their areas. As well, a staffing expert probably from the private sector, will be recruited based on need.
To qualify for the competition, for which we will establish selection criteria, a candidate will also have to sit a written exam so that we can be sure the candidate is familiar with the Elections Act. Furthermore, we will also assess the political impartiality of each candidate.
Bloc
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
That's all very good. The process looks a lot like the one in Quebec.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
That's how we will proceed. I might also add that current returning officers whose mandate will end and whose performance was good could have their mandates renewed without a public competition being held.
Bloc
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
I'm talking about people who currently hold the position and whose mandate will end, but whose performance was very good. In other words, if no major issues arose, the person could see their mandate renewed without a new competition being held.
Bloc
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
I have a few questions about the transition. When the bill will be passed, the transition will take a certain amount of time. How long will it take? How do you intend to appoint the 308 returning officers? We currently have a minority government, and we might be in election mode sooner rather than later. So you need to have a fairly specific plan. I would like you to tell the committee about this plan.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Mr. Chairman, under our plan — and I've already talked about it to another committee — we will consult members and parties to see whether they think the current returning officers who wish to serve again were impartial and whether they did a good job. You can have a perfectly impartial person who is completely incompetent. We are seeking feedback on two aspects of the job. Various committees established under my stewardship would take these comments into account when they review the list of officers. If a major objection is raised with regard to certain officers, that person will not be reappointed even if he or she wants to be, unless a competition is held and that person comes up on top.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
The process is not underway yet. However, we have started thinking about it and we have begun preparing certain documents. We have obviously not written to the parties or the candidates yet, because the bill has not yet been adopted.
Bloc
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
I would like to ask a final question.
How does dismissal happen? How will you proceed with that?
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Subsections 178(1) and 178(2) list a series of criteria. I would apply the same criteria, but only once it has been shown that a person is incompetent or politically biased. In my opinion, those reasons alone would be enough to dismiss someone. In other words, it would be a judgment call.
The person could also be dismissed for something as obvious as leaving their position in the middle of an election campaign. It might be because that person left for a holiday and forgot to tell us about it, for instance.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Would you like to know how many times it happened during the last election?
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
This type of thing would be taken into consideration. In other words, we would act like an employer would. Our performance criteria would be the same. If a person's performance was not satisfactory, other measures apart from dismissal could be considered. Dismissal is not the only possible option. We could give a warning, for example, because we have to respect the rights of the person in this process.
Thank you.
NDP
Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Thank you, Chair.
My questions stem from this idea of when the director of prosecutions will in fact take over and assume that role from the independent commissioner of Elections Canada.
First of all, is there any statute of limitations on Elections Canada offences, such as a candidate overspending on their elections?
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
The present statute of limitations is seven years--up to seven years, I should say. The commissioner, after he--it is a he at this time--has obtained knowledge of the thing, must institute prosecutorial measures within a year and a half of finding that out.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
Must, within a year and a half of finding out.
