Thank you.
Minister, thank you very much for coming today. If I could use an Olympic analogy, I can't resist saying, in connection with what you said about short-term doable issues that this government is focused on, that sometimes I worry that it's just going for the bronze, and I think Canadians deserve better than that. I have some concern over the lack of consultation, and I would be interested to know—and I'm not going to ask you to take up time right now—if you could cite the studies. I know you've talked about the Franklin study in Houston in 2002. There's also a passing reference to the French presidential election. My understanding is that whether or not the voting is on Sunday, it's a historically large voter turnout in any election.
I'd also underscore that you're right in saying the people around this table probably know more about elections and how they work than they do about banking. However, I could also point out that from time to time, when really contentious referendum questions are put on presidential ballots in the United States, the voter turnout spikes, so I think it is a legitimate concern to say that we do need to look at other studies, other jurisdictions, and other extenuating circumstances, and not just presume that Sunday voting is going to be for higher voter turnout.
I don't think there is a member in this House who wouldn't support the idea of more Canadians being involved in the democratic process. I, however, am not persuaded there's a short straight line between Sunday voting, the cost-benefit analysis that needs to be done through this, and whether this bill has received due diligence in order to receive support.