Procedure and House Affairs Committee on March 29th, 2012

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Mayrand. I would like us to go back to Mr. Christopherson's motion tabled in the House earlier this month. You must be aware of the motion. It has three parts. The first part asks that Elections Canada be able to request documents from political parties to ensure compliance with the Elections Act.

Another part says that telecommunication companies that contact voters directly must register with Elections Canada. In addition, the clients of those telecommunication companies, who request voter contact services, must have their identity verified and registered.

We know that the Elections Act has to be amended to reflect that. Can you think of any other pieces of legislation or things like that that should be changed accordingly?

[Marc Mayrand]

As I said earlier, my intention is to prepare a report by next year dealing with, among other things, the fraudulent calls allegedly made during the election. There are some elements in the motion, in the resolution, that deserve our attention. There might be other items that I will want to add or specify in due course.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Do you think that might help to prevent this type of—

[Marc Mayrand]

Let's see if there is a bill. You can be sure that I will also have comments to make at that time.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

As it stands right now—

[Marc Mayrand]

There are all sorts of things. We see that in what is made public. There are fake names, aliases and fake telephone numbers. All kinds of things are being camouflaged. That goes against our entire electoral system, which is founded on transparency and openness. We will have to think about all those issues and see how we can incorporate it in the Elections Act or in other pieces of legislation.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Do you think there are others that could be amended to integrate that?

[Marc Mayrand]

We are thinking about it. If the government consults us, we are definitely going to offer ideas. Otherwise, we are going to make suggestions to the committee if a bill is introduced.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Thank you.

That brings us to the end of this round of questioning. We are still before our time. If it's the will of the committee, are there further questions, or shall we adjourn for the day?

I'm seeing nods, but I've asked two questions.

Are we finished? No.

Okay, we'll do a round of one-offs about two minutes long, and we'll be finished.

Mr. Comartin, would you like to go first?

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Mayrand, you've obviously made continuous reference to the commissioner. In terms of you coming back before the summer break, do you get updates from the commissioner as to the status of the investigation? Is there that type of relationship between his office and yours?

[Marc Mayrand]

The commissioner and I are maintaining what I would describe as an arm's-length relationship. He will give me general information about the workload, the type of investigation they're carrying out, but at a very general level, and the resources required. But I do not ask and he does not offer specific information about specific investigations and where they are at.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

So you get your information from Mr. Maher and Mr. McGregor just as I do, I'm assuming, as opposed to from the commissioner?

[Marc Mayrand]

It's interesting, because I get the ITOs only after they are filed in court.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Would there not be information in those ITOs that would have been coming from your side of the office—some of the complaints that you've had?

[Marc Mayrand]

Sure, but I don't know when the ITOs are prepared or when the order from the court is sought. I find that out only when there is a return on the ITOs.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Along the same lines in terms of relationships, are you aware of any police agency that has been called in to investigate, in addition to the work that the commissioner is doing?

[Marc Mayrand]

The commissioner has an MOU with the RCMP, so he can draw on their expertise or assistance as needed. If you're thinking about the provinces or municipalities, I'm not aware of any investigations by those other bodies.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Mr. Garneau, do you have a quick one-off?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Mayrand, is the commissioner who is doing the analyses able to decide whether criminal charges should be laid, if he were to find that an individual is guilty, in his opinion?

[Marc Mayrand]

Beyond violations of the Canada Elections Act—

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

You mentioned violations of the Canada Elections Act, but could there be prosecutions?

[Marc Mayrand]

It has happened in the past.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

And is it up to the commissioner to make that decision?

[Marc Mayrand]

Yes, the commissioner will determine whether there is an offence.