Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I do have a few comments, but they won't exceed the ten-minute time allocation.
My presentation will focus on five main topics: the appointment of returning officers, the proposed contribution rules, the application of the Access to Information Act to my office, the prosecution of election offences by the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the proposed treatment of gifts.
Bill C-2 will transfer the authority for the appointment and termination of returning officers from the Governor in Council to the Chief Electoral Officer. This is consistent with recommendations I had been making since I became Chief Electoral Officer. The bill provides that this transfer will take place after royal assent on a day specified by the Governor in Council.
As I will be ready to implement this new authority well within the six-month period following royal assent, the committee may wish to consider the appropriateness of providing for the traditional Canada Elections Act formula for the coming into effect of these provisions; that is to say, six months after royal assent, unless the Chief Electoral Officer announces he is ready to implement them earlier, which I will.
The bill proposes to remove the current ability of corporations, trade unions, and unincorporated associations to make contributions to the local level. This will greatly simplify the eligibility rules.
The bill would also change the existing cap on contributions by individuals from $5,000 to $1,000 to registered parties per year, and a further $1,000 in total per year to the candidates, the registered electoral district associations, and the nomination contestants of a registered party. That means $2,000 per year.
Contributions to leadership contests, which would be reduced to a maximum of $1,000, would remain separate from all this, which means that in a year like this year, the Liberal Party would be $3,000.
The bill's provisions respecting contributions would come into effect on royal assent, which presupposes there is no need or opportunity for Elections Canada to inform the public of the change.
The bill proposes to make the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer subject to the Access to Information Act. The only specific electoral access exception proposed by the bill provides that the Chief Electoral Officer shall refuse any request to disclose a record that was obtained or created in an examination or review under the Canada Elections Act.
The Canada Elections Act currently expressly prohibits access to specific election documents after an election without the consent of a judge. The committee may wish to consider maintaining this current protection—