That way we can get it to printing before 4 o'clock.
So we're back to my original comment.
I received this letter probably 20 or 25 minutes ago. It's addressed to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs:
Dear. Dr. Goodyear:
I acknowledge receipt of your letter of today in which you inform me of a unanimous motion of the Committee calling upon Elections Canada to reverse its decision to allow veiled voting.
As I indicated in my press conference yesterday (a transcript of which is attached), the Canada Elections Act provides several ways of voting that do not require the visual comparison of an elector with a photograph. Consequently, in those cases, the choice to unveil is that of the elector. This result flows not from a decision on my part but from the Act as recently adopted by Parliament.
I would be pleased to appear before the Committee at your convenience to further discuss the requirements of the Act in this regard and the reasons why I believe an adaptation would not be justified at this time.
My interpretation of the letter is that it's a direct “no” to the motion. As a result of that, the committee has said that we will call Mr. Mayrand to this committee to comment.
We'll get you copies as soon as we can.