Thank you.
Ms. Robertson, your presentation interesting and touching. Like Mr. Aldag, I'm happy you've started to participate and vote in elections. It's heartwarming for me, as a democrat.
Just to put things in perspective, you mentioned that you used to think voting wouldn't change anything, and that your vote didn't count. In fact, the current voting system contributes to that impression. In some electoral districts, people managed to win with 35% of the votes. That means that 65% of the people who cast their ballot in those districts are not represented in Parliament. It would have made no difference if they'd stayed home.
In Canada as a whole, 9 million of the votes cast in the last federal election did not elect a single person. There is no route for the voices expressed in those votes to be heard in Parliament. So it's not just an impression, it's a fact.
You've made interesting suggestions, such as polling stations in Native Friendship Centres. What could we do to improve the participation of the various First Nations, and of Métis, in the electoral process, and perhaps to have Aboriginal and Métis people in Parliament?