Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Nov. 28th, 2006

[Marcel Blanchet]

That is a provision of the Elections Act. There was a change made recently. Previously, the list was sent out once a year in the fall, whereas now, it is sent out four times a year.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Really?

[Marcel Blanchet]

Yes. In fact, we ask every member of the National Assembly or member of Parliament who receives the list to sign an undertaking that the confidentiality of that list will be maintained and that they will ensure it is used only for the purposes for which it was designed.

People have complained in the past about the fact that their elective representative called them to wish them a happy birthday or had sent them a birthday card after obtaining their personal information through the electoral list. That has happened only a couple of times. When it did, I called the member myself and let him know he could not use the list for that purpose.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

So, it can only be used for election purposes.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Goodyear]

Excuse me. Thank you. I think our time is up on that. Thank you very much for that questioning.

Monsieur Godin, it's your turn now.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Blanchet, I would like to come back to the way people are selected. If I understood you correctly, the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec previously paid two people to carry out pretty well the exact same task, namely to obtain the names to be passed on to the political parties. One of those individuals was chosen by the political party that had received the most votes; the political party who ranked second would choose the second individual.

If you were to limit yourself to only one such officer, how do you think that person should be selected? You already explained it, but I didn't really understand your explanation.

[Marcel Blanchet]

The task of recruiting theses individuals could be handled most appropriately by the returning officer in each riding. In any case, we already have to do it, because there are not enough people being recommended to us by the political parties.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

And how is the returning officer chosen?

[Marcel Blanchet]

In Quebec — and since 2000, this also applies to Manitoba — the returning officer is chosen through a very rigourous open competition. That process is based on rules similar to the ones that apply to public service competitions. The returning officer is selected and appointed by the Chief Electoral Officer. He has a ten-year mandate.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

That's why there are two, I believe. Initially there were two, because the candidates were selected by the political parties. After that, one of them was eliminated.

On election day in Quebec, there is one individual who looks after the bingo cards. Since that is pretty straightforward, we won't go into that any further.

Can the political parties assign individuals to monitor the election or are they only able to do that when the votes are counted?

[Marcel Blanchet]

Well, as you say, there is nothing preventing the political parties from sending representatives to the polling stations to monitor what is going on throughout the day.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

What are their specific duties?

[Marcel Blanchet]

It's up to the political parties to decide what they want them to do. In any case, at no time can they interfere with the voting process. They are there as observers, but they play no role in the electoral process.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Are they seated at the table?

[Marcel Blanchet]

They could be seated at the table, except there is a chance there would not be enough room, because there are already four people there. They can sit behind the table or somewhere else in the room.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Chairman, because they cannot interfere in the voting process, they are no longer able to receive information at the table as was the case previously, because now there is someone being paid to pass on that information. If they are able to interfere in any way, then we will be back at square one. The person responsible for filling in the bingo cards is now responsible as well for passing on that information to the political parties.

[Marcel Blanchet]

Yes, absolutely. That is what these individuals are hired for.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

And only for that purpose.

[Marcel Blanchet]

They pass on the information to all the political parties and all the independent candidates.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Let's get back to the issue of the homeless and Aboriginal Canadians. Do they have to present ID in order to vote?

[Marcel Blanchet]

Yes. In Quebec, all individuals wishing to vote must identify themselves using forms of identification that are recognized in the legislation or by regulation. The kinds of ID that are recognized in the legislation are the Quebec Health Care card, the Canadian passport and the driver's licence. Last April, the government passed regulations that added two new pieces of ID: the Certificate of Indian Status and the Canadian Forces photo ID. Those two pieces of ID can now be used for voting purposes.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

The New Brunswick Health Care card is different from the Quebec card in that there is no photo.

[Marcel Blanchet]

That card would probably not be accepted in Quebec. However, there is one exception in Quebec: seniors over the age of 75 are not required to have their photograph on their health care card, although the card may be used as identification.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Let's take an extreme case. If someone is not required to have photo ID because of her age, and that person has health problems and doesn't have a driver's licence either, how can she prove her identity? Is there a mechanism in place for such cases?

[Marcel Blanchet]

At every polling station, we have a system in place which is called the elector ID verification table. That will allow someone who doesn't have one of the types of ID provided for in the legislation or the regulations to identify himself or herself to the people at that table.