Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Manon Paquet, and I'm the director of special projects in the PCO's democratic institutions secretariat.
Clause 362 relates to section 91 of the Canada Elections Act, which prohibits specific types of false statements made to affect the election results. The amendment would add the word “knowingly” to the associated offences to clarify that for that provision to apply, the individual or entity needed to know that the statement was false. It responds to a recent court decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.