Evidence of meeting #21 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was vote.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:30 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
You're right on that point.
12:30 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
That raises other problems, but you're right on that point.
12:30 p.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Something else concerns me very much because it hasn't been resolved. And that's the issue of worker mobility. It's a major problem. People who leave to go and work in Alberta have had problems and have said that they couldn't vote. They're in Fort McMurray and the polling station is in Edmonton. In Fort McMurray, they're in camps and can't vote. When I phoned Elections Canada, I was told that signs had been set up in the field, in cafeterias and everywhere. I swear it's true, and I've done my work on that. I take the plane every week, I meet people who are leaving Alberta to go to New Brunswick, and they say they've never seen an Elections Canada poster. I trust them; I figure they're right.
This is a problem because it concerns a lot of people. They leave from everywhere in the country to go and work on the oil wells in Alberta, and this isn't resolved. What do you think you can do to solve that problem? It's a serious problem. Full airplanes are going to Alberta twice a day, every day. People work 20 days, 10 days or 30 days; they go there regularly. Some people have left the riding on election day at 6:00 a.m. and haven't had the right to vote the previous day because advance polling had been closed for a week.
12:35 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
We offer an option to those workers who are in transit, who are working temporarily, often in work camps in Alberta, as you mentioned, but also across the country. They have the option of voting under the special rules. Unless they have the opportunity to return to their riding for one of the voting days, they can vote in accordance with the special rules. There are all kinds of restrictions and requirements.
12:35 p.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
No, I'm not familiar with those rules, but that doesn't work for them.
12:35 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
I believe my predecessor previously suggested that those rules be revised. Starting the revision, I believe, is the responsibility of this committee.
12:35 p.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
It's not an administrative rule. The act doesn't prevent you from setting up a place to vote in work camps.
12:35 p.m.
NDP
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
The act doesn't prevent you from sending someone to the site to enable people to vote.
12:35 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
I can't use mobile polling stations in work camps. The use of mobile polling stations is very restricted by the act. It's possible in places where long-term care is provided, in seniors residences. The rules will have to be revised.
I see that the Chair wants me to stop. Pardon me.
12:35 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joe Preston
Mr. Godin takes advantage of being way at the end.
Thank you very much.
That's the end of the second round. We're moving into the third round, and I still have five or six speakers on the list and very little time left in the meeting. So I'd like you all to take some care in asking fairly quick questions, if you'd like an answer.
Monsieur Proulx is first.
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'd like to go back very briefly to the question of remuneration for workers. As a result of its wage freeze, the Conservative government doesn't want there to be an increase.
Wouldn't it be possible for the Conservative government to make an exception? It boasts that it wants to increase voter turn-out, but, if there are fewer workers, the process will be slower and even fewer people will vote. Have you suggested that they make an exception?
12:35 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
We've had discussions with Treasury Board on the subject. The legal services of both organizations have examined the situation from all angles, and the conclusion is that our election workers are subject to the act that restricts expenditures.
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
12:35 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
For that, this act would have to be amended.
12:35 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
We could amend the act. They are informed that—
12:35 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
There are issues—
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
They're aware, but they don't want to amend it. That's a heartless approach. Don't answer, I don't want—
12:35 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
I'm not answering either.
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
I understood your previous answer.
I'd like you to give me a detailed answer. We've spoken to you about the quality and accuracy of the electoral list. People have been working for a number of years on that permanent list, and all kinds of errors and inaccuracies have been noted for a number of years.
Tell us what Elections Canada has done to date to correct the situation.
October 8th, 2009 / 12:35 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer
A number of things have been done that I can explain without providing all the details.
First, information is received more quickly from the vital statistics centres—the offices that report on deaths. Amendments made to Bill C-31 now enable those that make declarations for deceased persons to authorize the Canada Revenue Agency to transmit the information to us, which should somewhat offset the fact that certain deceased persons sometimes wind up on the lists.
Second, we have the phenomenon of business addresses that is being monitored very closely. Targeted address revisions are made, for example, when it is felt that the address given in the information that we receive may be a business address.
There's the “pile-up” phenomenon, or— how to say it, pardon me—the multiplicity of voters at a single address. That's also being reviewed systematically. As soon as we realize that more than five voters are at the same address, we ask the returning officer to go to the address in question to confirm that five voters are there, since it may happen that these are people who have already moved. This is systematically done on the occasion of an election, and we will be doing it as well, under Bill C-31, between elections. Now we can use the returning officers to improve the electoral list.
That said, you will be receiving the annual list in November with a quality study. You'll be able to see that nearly 94% of voters are registered on the list and that the accuracy of the information for all electors, including those who are not on it, reaches approximately 85%. I know it means nothing to you when a specific case is cited. On that subject, I invite you to inform us of incidents that you witness and of inaccuracies that you see on the list. It is important that the errors be brought to our attention so that we can take action and continue to improve the list.