Good afternoon, Mr. Kingsley.
I can tell you that things went well in my riding as regards the returning officer. He followed the Act, he was very clear, and we were informed immediately when something was wrong. In addition, problems were solved quickly. However, I do not know whether this was the case in all ridings. In our area, things went well.
Earlier, you were saying that some returning officers had been appointed for a period of up to 20 years. However, we should remember that the electoral boundaries are readjusted every 10 years. So there are changes made to the returning officers. That is what happened in my riding. When it was split in two, we got a new returning officer. They do not necessarily hold the position for 20 years.
I have a rather particular question to ask you. In my riding, on polling day or in the advance polls, even though people had their voter card, they were required to have identification cards as well. I was even asked for this myself, even though everyone knew who I was when I went to vote.
I have nothing against this approach, but I am wondering whether it should not be followed everywhere. There cannot be one rule in one riding but not in others. The returning officer of a riding cannot decide to act in one way in one area, while a returning officer in another riding decides to act differently. This caused a problem, particularly for young people.
For example, I took my 18-year-old son to vote for the first time. He did not have his I.D. card with him, but he had his voter card. And they did not want to allow him to vote. I had to go into the polling station to identify him, to say that he was my son and that he was entitled to vote. In the end, he was allowed to vote. This is perhaps something that should be looked into.
There was another situation that I found very problematic and that I experienced during the last election campaign. I would even say that it involved a lack of respect for all voters. I am talking about candidates who run but whom no one sees throughout the entire campaign. They put signs everywhere, and journalists ran after them without ever managing to reach them. I am talking about candidates who were never in the riding, not once.
I do not know whether it might be possible to establish some requirements in this regard when we amend the Canada Elections Act. I think this displays a complete lack of respect for people, because they want to know for whom they are voting. There were signs everywhere, but generally speaking, these candidates do not even live in the riding. Their pictures are simply displayed on posts around the riding and we are criticized because we do not know where they are or who they are. I think this is a serious problem and one that shows a complete lack of respect for voters.
I would ask you to think about this matter.