Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and committee members, for inviting me here today.
As the executive director of the Debra Dynes Family House, which is a multi-service resource in a low-income social housing area in Ottawa, and chair of the Coalition of Community Houses, which provides similar services in thirteen other identified areas of poverty across the city of Ottawa, I would like to draw your attention to some concerns about the amendments in Bill C-31, particularly those to section 143.
Increasing people's awareness of their voting rights and responsibilities is a function that community houses take very seriously. Our communities have the largest populations of multiculturally diverse people who live in poverty in the city of Ottawa. We have three times the number of people under the age of 25 years, in comparison to other neighbourhoods in Ottawa. This figure, a unique feature of our communities, remains consistent over time. Single-parent families make up 68% of our families. These are all critical factors, and I think all of the people who are speaking today will have had some reflection and some contact with groups that are very similar to the ones I'm talking about.
Lack of knowledge of voting rights and responsibilities and the Canadian voting system, parenting responsibilities, mobility, and, in some cases, fear and trauma from experiences in other countries around voting procedures, form considerable barriers for many of our eligible voters. Bill C-31, proposed section 143, creates additional barriers that are, in my opinion, unnecessary and poorly thought out in setting up a system for voters that is accessible and allows them to exercise their fundamental democratic right to vote.
Proposed section 143 makes several assumptions that will further disenfranchise eligible voters who find themselves too often marginalized socially, politically, and economically in Canadian society. The requirement to provide photo ID as an option of eligibility to vote cannot be met by many of my residents and people living in poverty in Canada. They don't have a driver's licence. They don't have passports. It's an offence for someone to request a health ID card in Ontario, which puts elections staff in a difficult position and leaves voters feeling uncertain of whether they will be accepted or not.
Proposed paragraph 143(2)(b), “two pieces of identification establishing the elector’s name and address that are authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer”, can present difficulties for youths of eligible voting age in our community who are living in poverty, when it comes to providing documentation. They also do not have cars. They may be living with parents. They may not have bills that they can easily provide as ID.
I would also add that low-income families and people living in poverty in Canada move more often. Providing a current address is a very real problem for some people. That doesn't mean they aren't living legitimately where they are. They may have just been in the process of moving, and it shouldn't disenfranchise them from exercising their right to vote as Canadian citizens.
It is also not clear what would be authorized as acceptable by the Chief Electoral Officer in Bill C-31 as it sits presently, and if that would be consistent over time. You may be putting people or professionals in the field in a position where we're trying to inform, educate, assist, and make that voting process as accessible as possible, and if we're scrambling to find out what the new document is this year, or what the flavour of the month is around documentation, that is just going to decrease our ability to help people. It will stop it or it will be a hindrance.
There is a piece in the bill, proposed subsections 143(3) and (5) combined, that may create a barrier for professionals in the field to assist persons with limited ability to provide ID to vote. If you can vouch for only one person at one time, then I really think that is going to limit people's ability to vote, and it's also going to limit the ability of professionals who may be in a very good position to give authentic reference for people to be able to to do that. I'm certain we can come up with something better than what is in the bill at the moment.
I would just say that voting is a fundamental right of all Canadian citizens and it's important that any amendments to the way in which Canadians vote reflect and facilitate the ability of those whose voices are often not heard in the democratic process. The issues mentioned with regard to section 143 of the act set up a mechanism that will make it difficult, and in some cases impossible, for an eligible Canadian voter to exercise their voting rights.
It was very simple for me to walk into this building today. I was asked for photo ID. I could provide a driver's licence. If I had brought residents from my community, they would have had great difficulty in having access to the very foundation of the Canadian parliamentary system to be part of this process today. That's what I'm trying to get at when we are saying that some of the things in the amendments are not well thought out enough to accommodate the families and the people I come in contact with every day.
Thank you very much.