Minister, I thank you for being here today with your associates. You've done a very good job at providing a context to the bill which is before us today which, if I've understood correctly, constitutes an addition to Bill C-31. Bill C-31 has already been adopted by Parliament, and its purpose was to increase the methods by which voters can be identified.
I should point out that my party did not necessarily question the Chief Electoral Officer's interpretation. Different people have different interpretations of legislation. Indeed, there was a request made concerning the use of the power of adaptation which is set out in the Elections Act. The Chief Electoral Officer may use a power of adaptation to resolve a particular matter.
Having said this, Minister, following a discussion of this issue, which even went public, various communities throughout the country reacted in certain ways as you pointed out. Various opinions were voiced. And it is very clear that parliamentarians want to make absolutely sure of the identities of those persons who vote.
On this matter, a number of people raised the perhaps problematic issue of voters who exercise their franchise by mail. These people would like to see just as tough voter identification criteria being applied to persons who will opt for a mail-in vote.
Could you remind members of the committee what the current requirements are when it comes to postal voting?