Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm very glad we are discussing this. I think it's a very serious issue, and we have to fix it and fix it right.
I have to state for the record that what's being stated this morning is inaccurate. Certainly the Conservative Party made a big mistake with this bill and they were supported by the two other opposition parties. However, we did raise these issues at the time. In fact, I spoke in the House and said:
Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite the government House leader to come with me to the northern part of my riding....
I'm amazed at the number of people in these communities who do not have access to the kind of identification we are talking about.
When we are talking about ensuring that people are able to exercise their democratic franchise, the member opposite is accusing us of supporting electoral fraud. I certainly take exception to that because I have people in my region who are trying to vote, who do not have addresses....
That was stated in the House, but it was not considered an issue at the time. It just didn't seem to be something that this government took seriously. So this morning you were asked the question about homelessness and students, and you said you don't want to delve into that. Have you looked at how many people are still going to be disenfranchised by this? Do you have numbers? Certainly having a bill that has already had two band-aids brought forth raises questions. We'd better do it right this time.