Procedure and House Affairs Committee on March 18th, 2010

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

I'd like to call us to order, please.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(a)(vi), matters relating to the election of members in the House of Commons, we are reviewing the supplementary estimates today and having a good discussion, I hope, with the Chief Electoral Officer.

Mr. Mayrand, it is always good to see you.

I will let you do an opening statement and introduce your guests, and then I'm sure we'll have some hard and pressing questions for you.

[Marc Mayrand, Chief Electoral Officer, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer]

I'm looking forward to it, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you very much. Again, I truly appreciate this opportunity to meet with your committee for the first time in this new session to discuss the supplementary estimates for Elections Canada.

I am accompanied today by Ms. Gisèle Côté, chief financial officer, also responsible for internal audit with Elections Canada; and by Mr. Rennie Molnar, deputy chief electoral officer, who is responsible for electoral events.

I will focus my remarks on the necessary costs that Elections Canada incurs to remain in constant readiness for an election.

As members of the committee know, Elections Canada operates under two funding authorities. The first is an administrative vote, which includes the salaries of indeterminate employees. Second, there is a statutory vote, which covers all other expenses of the office. This is where, for example, we find the costs for preparation and conduct of electoral events, be they elections, byelections, or referendums.

For 2009-10, an amount of $25 million, to be drawn from the statutory authority, was included in the supplementary estimates by my office. This funding is required to prepare for the next general election and the conduct of the November 2009 byelections. Included in this amount is $17 million for readiness activities, $2.8 million for the 2009 byelections, $4.2 million for upgrades to our information technology and field systems, and approximately $1 million for accommodation costs.

After the 40th general election yielded another minority government, Elections Canada had to return to readiness quickly. Costs associated with returning to a state of readiness include such expenses as printing and restocking of election supplies.

We have also made some targeted administrative improvements to respond to issues raised during the 40th general election. These improvements include changes to election officer training to include a train-the-trainer strategy and a focus on basic processes for deputy returning officers and poll clerks who would consult the central poll supervisors on exceptional cases; the provision of high-speed telecommunications and cellphones in the returning officer's office to improve communications and reduce office set-up time; and finally, the addition of advance polling districts, especially in rural areas, to improve accessibility.

These changes were successfully tested in the November 2009 byelections. For example, the use of cellphones meant that local Elections Canada offices could be set up without waiting for the installation of land lines. The results of the additional advance polling districts in two ridings were inconclusive and will require more data. With some fine-tuning, these improvements will be implemented in the next general election.

Our readiness activities also include just-in-time preparations that we must initiate whenever an election call is anticipated. These include such things as hiring and training staff to support Returning Officers and to respond to enquiries from the public.

Typically, in a minority government situation, these activities are undertaken twice a year—once in the early fall, and once in early spring. This illustrates how we use the statutory authority to respond to the unpredictability of the timing of electoral events.

Nonetheless, the ongoing necessity to be ready imposes strains on the Agency and its employees. It also limits the efforts we can expend towards making substantial improvements to the electoral process. Therefore, it is essential that we establish clear priorities and to do so, we are guided by the objectives of our strategic plan: Trust, Accessibility and Engagement.

In closing, I would like to mention some upcoming initiatives on which we hope to engage the Committee this spring. By March 31, I will submit to the Speaker of the House of Commons my statutory report on the November 2009 by-elections.

Before the House adjourns for the summer, I also intend to submit to the Speaker my recommendations report following the 2008 general election, for amendments to the Canada Elections Act.

Finally, I would like to engage the Committee on key strategic initiatives that my office is undertaking in the area of accessibility. These include: the development of an e-registration system to permit electors to confirm and update their voter registration information over the Internet; and the conduct of a pilot project in a future by-election, to test the use of technology that will assist voters with visual impairments and physical disabilities in casting their votes independently.

This pilot project is subject to the approval of the committees of both the House and the Senate, as specified in section 18.1 of the Canada Elections Act.

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to discuss with the Committee the conclusions of a feasibility study on adding the voter information card to the list of pieces of identification authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer.

I would very much appreciate an opportunity to engage the Committee on these issues at a session at Elections Canada headquarters in Ottawa, later in June.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, that concludes my remarks. My colleagues and I will be happy to answer your questions.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Merci, thank you.

Madam Jennings.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Mayrand.

On page 4 of the French version of your brief, in the first paragraph at the top of the page, you say, and I quote: “The results of the additional advance polling districts in two ridings were inconclusive and will require more data.”

What do you mean by that? What kind of conclusive results were you expecting?

[Marc Mayrand]

As you know, that was part of an exercise aimed at adding polling divisions, stations and places for advance polling in primarily rural ridings. We did in fact add a number of polling stations in two ridings during the by-elections.

Of course, the problem is that the voter turnout rate in by-elections is always lower. I am not sure this is a good measurement for comparison purposes. At the same time, we did register some additional votes in these new voting places. However, I cannot say that it resulted in a significant increase in the turnout rate.

In my opinion, that is primarily because these were by-elections. In a general election, we will be in a much better position to compare things that are truly comparable, if I can put it that way.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

That was my only question. My colleagues may have additional questions.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Good morning, Mr. Mayrand, Ms. Côté and Mr. Molnar. Welcome. Thank you, for attending our Committee meetings.

Since we are discussing the Supplementary Estimates, can you tell me whether the fact that the 2005-2006 election spending case, which was before the Federal Court and which prompted your appeal, is still pending is resulting in additional expenditures for you? It was commonly called the In and Out Case. Are you forced to maintain additional reserves for that reason?

I presume that the money you could be required to pay to candidates has already been identified and is being held in reserve.

[Marc Mayrand]

That money comes out of our statutory appropriations. It will therefore be available, depending on the outcome of the case before the courts.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Fine, but would those expenses appear in the accounts for the year of the election or the year when the payment—

[Marc Mayrand]

They will appear in the accounts for the year in which they are incurred. Every year, there is an expenditure item—not in the Supplementary Estimates—but we still have expenditures for the 38th and 39th Parliaments. There are still items to be closed off for the 38th and, of course, the 40th Parliament.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

So, at this time, you have no money set aside in anticipation of those potential expenditures.

[Marc Mayrand]

No. When the amount has been identified, we will either amend our Main Estimates, depending on exactly when that occurs, or add it to our Main Estimates or Supplementary Estimates, under statutory appropriations.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Great.

I'll go to Monsieur Poilievre.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Thank you very much for being here.

You mentioned on page 4 of your statement that your strategic plan includes trust, accessibility, and engagement. You've lost two court decisions related to the so-called in-and-out matter in the last three months. How much have those court proceedings cost Elections Canada in terms of lawyers and awards that the court has decided?

[Marc Mayrand]

The first thing is that the two cases are being appealed right now.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Sorry; we have limited time, so perhaps we could just go right to the answer.

[Marc Mayrand]

For the GST case, it's $84,000 so far; and for what's commonly referred to as the in-and-out case, it's $253,000.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

All right.

How much money has Elections Canada spent on the investigation into that matter?

[Marc Mayrand]

This is ongoing, but it's several hundred thousand dollars. I can provide that figure more precisely to the committee.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Several hundred thousand: that's as precise as you can be here?

[Marc Mayrand]

Yes.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Okay. We've seen costs reported in the media as high as a million dollars. Would that be inaccurate?

[Marc Mayrand]

I think that's a little bit high from the last figures that were brought to my attention, but again, I can get back to the committee and confirm that number more precisely.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

I have an Ottawa Citizen headline from December 8, 2008:

In-and-out Tory ad probe costs $1 Million so far: Elections Canada invoices reveal investigation close to wrapping up.

That was close to wrapping up back in December of 2008. We're now over almost a year and a half later, and it's still ongoing, two court defeats later.

The cost of the investigation continues to mount. Elections Canada and Mr. Corbett's office have spent just more than $1 million on professional fees and other expenses, the agency says.