Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.
My name is Salim Mansur and I am from the University of Western Ontario. I represent no one but myself. I was invited late yesterday afternoon, and on very short notice I came here.
The thoughts and sentiments expressed by the speakers before me are pretty much my own. I very much share their views on this matter. I hope we will be able to discuss it on the open floor.
My concern is that the integrity of our electoral system, the heart of our democracy, be protected. I would say that any smidgen of doubt, real or imagined, created in the minds of the electorate that our system could be abused, or is open to abuse, is edging closer to a slippery slope.
Any exception made in this instance on whatever grounds to accommodate, as a display of tolerance or sensitivity to faith-based demands, would set a precedent for future demands, and drip by drip it would render our electoral system vulnerable to abuse.
We have minimal conditions to be met by voters, and those conditions are pretty clearly laid out.
Thank you.