Electoral Reform Committee on Sept. 23rd, 2016

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

When are you going to run? Not where, when?

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

But my more serious question is, because of what you've outlined—one-third of the people would be on lists and two-thirds in direct election—if you were going to run, which list would you want to be on? Would you want to be on the two-thirds who are directly elected, or to have your name on the one-third? There's going to be a list.

[Fred-William Mireault]

That's a good question. I think both are the same. The type of member who comes from a list is elected by all their party members. That's definitely beneficial.

However, I would say that I still prefer the MPs who run in a constituency, because they will truly represent their region's interests in the House of Commons. I prefer this type of MP, but I have to acknowledge the legitimacy of the candidate chosen by the party members.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Yes, but we haven't had a proposal that those...lists would be elected to those lists. They could be appointed by party officials as well. What would you think of that?

[Fred-William Mireault]

In my view, the 113 MPs chosen by the parties would still be legitimate. It would be up to the Canadians who want more space in the 113 seats to obtain a membership card for the party closest to their values, to go to the provincial convention and to vote for the candidates on the lists.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Yes, I understand that. But there are closed and open lists, and then there are those who may not be elected to those lists.

Now, when you mentioned it—you had your one-third and two-thirds—you gave us some specific numbers. I think you said you would have 265 elected directly. Is that 225 or 65?

[Fred-William Mireault]

There would be 225 MPs.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Oh, 225. You're looking at the present list that was there, okay. You're not proposing to increase the number of members in the House.

[Fred-William Mireault]

We proposed a format of one-third and two-thirds. As I said at the outset, assigning too much proportionality would sort of drown the various populations in each province. If we don't assign enough weight to proportionality, we might not factor in the distortions that might arise between the number of votes and the number of MPs.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We asked whether you wanted to add seats to achieve proportionality without expanding the constituencies. Do you want us to have more than 338 MPs in the House?

[Fred-William Mireault]

No.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

The number would be lower.

[Fred-William Mireault]

In terms of increasing the number of MPs, we would have to see. We chose the number of 338 MPs because the House of Commons is bursting at the seams. It is more complicated than that. We are in favour of increasing the number of MPs in a sense, but, for a purely technical reason, we are keeping the number at 338 MPs.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Thank you.

The floor goes to Mr. DeCourcey.

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Perreault and Mr. Mireault, thank you for your testimony.

Mr. Mireault, the committee is wondering how we can encourage a higher voter turnout. We have listened to a number of presentations and we even know that, in some Canadian groups, many people don't vote. That's the case for young people especially. There was a higher voter turnout in 2015, but we want it to continue to grow. With all that, you are proposing a referendum after a new electoral system is put forward.

What should we do to ensure that young people will participate in the referendum?

[Fred-William Mireault]

I think the participation of young people in this possible referendum would depend on an information campaign. The Chief Electoral Officer could join with youth groups, youth forums, and promote participation in the referendum. Perhaps he could visit CEGEPs and universities to explain the debate to those who aren't following it.

That might also mean that there would be more young people working as election officials. Before the last federal election, the Chief Electoral Officer said that he would leave more room for young people. Yet we've heard about young people who applied and didn’t get a job.

If young people are part of the electoral process, they can be more informed and might be more aware of the referendum.

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

If the issue goes to a referendum, do you think that the turnout of young people would be low?

[Fred-William Mireault]

I think the point of a referendum is to open the door to all Canadians. We can’t make young people vote against their will. Personally, I wouldn’t want a referendum to be invalidated because a group of young people didn’t vote. We need to make an effort to engage young people, but I don’t think we can impose a youth representativeness criterion.

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Perreault, how do you think seniors would react if the issue of electoral reform went to a referendum? Do you think seniors would participate?

[Danielle Perreault]

I think seniors would participate in a referendum as long as the question was clear. It’s important in Quebec that the referendum question be very clear. In any case, seniors are very committed people, and they would certainly take part in the referendum.

The Réseau FADOQ would also strongly encourage its members to exercise their right to vote. Unlike Mr. Mireault, who doesn’t seem to want participation in a referendum to be mandatory, we at FADOQ think that it’s a duty. We are lucky in Canada to have the right to vote to elect the people who will represent us. I think the failure to exercise this citizen right is wrong.

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Thank you, Mr. DeCourcey.

Ms. Sansoucy, you have the floor.

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Please allow me to welcome the members of the public who are with us this evening. I would also like to thank the two witnesses for their presentations.

Ms. Perreault, you mentioned that the percentage of voters who exercised their right to vote was disturbing. You also said that you represented people who felt that voting was a duty. These senior voters are upset that they can’t exercise their right to vote when access problems prevent them from doing so.

You also argue that you represent people who find that the current voting system isn’t a problem at all. I know that your organization doesn’t have a position other than that on electoral reform. But the government announced that the status quo isn’t an option. You represent people who aren’t against change but who have been exercising their right to vote using the current system for 50, 60 and even 70 years or more. So it will be important to inform them about the change when Parliament recommends a new voting system to the Canadian public.

What steps do you think should be taken to properly educate the people you represent about the fact that they will no longer be able to vote the same way they always have?

[Danielle Perreault]

I think the first thing would be to organize meetings, like this one, to fully explain to seniors the changes to the voting system. You also need to ensure you are there for them, more than every four years, and hold meetings in every region so that they fully understand the changes.

FADOQ feels obligated to clearly explain to its members the nature of the changes that will be made so that they are not afraid of the new voting system. We know that the older we get, the harder it is to adapt to change. We will need to explain to them the reasons for the changes and the resulting benefits. Seniors aren't necessarily resistant to change, even though they sometimes seem to be because they no longer know what to do. We will need to support them as they navigate this. We will also have to be flexible with them when they come to vote so that they fully understand how to vote. Polling stations might have people designated to explain to seniors how to fill out the new ballot.

Time definitely needs to be taken to provide seniors with good explanations. People who have been voting for 50 or 60 years might feel that their routine has been disrupted.