Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, and members of the committee. Thank you for the invitation to appear before you today.
In my opening statement I will address only those aspects of the bill that may have the most adverse effect on electors in the Northwest Territories. Those are the end of vouching, the examination of identification documents by candidates or their representatives, and limiting the communications of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada.
Voter ID laws in the Northwest Territories mirror those in the Canada Elections Act; therefore, this makes for a valuable comparative study. Following the 2011 territorial general election, the legislative assembly concluded that voter identification requirements did in some cases discourage qualified voters from voting. The requirements do seem somewhat excessive, particularly in our small communities where we all know each other.
In the 2011 territorial election, for every 1,000 ballots cast, 15 electors required vouching. Even though the population of Yellowknife is more than five times greater than the next largest NWT community, vouching was twice as likely to take place at a polling station in a community other than Yellowknife. The reason is apparent: in 27 of 33 NWT communities, less than half of residents hold active government-issued photo identification. This causes me to draw three conclusions: first, the frequency with which vouching occurs is relatively low; second, electors in smaller NWT communities are more likely to rely on vouching in order to exercise their right to vote; and third, in my view, removing vouching from the Canada Elections Act would, at least in the short term, cause a barrier to access for some electors, especially in our smaller communities.
The claim that vouching increases the risk of fraud is, in my view, unfounded. Consider the process. First, the person vouching must have proper identification and the person being vouched for must provide basic personal information and swear an oath. As the Parliament of Canada considers eliminating vouching, the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories is contemplating expanding vouching by recognizing the relationship of electors beyond the polling division as well as by increasing the maximum number of times an elector may vouch for another elector.
I ask this committee to recommend removing the provisions of this bill that repeal vouching.
The Parliament of Canada is also considering allowing candidates and their representatives to examine an elector's identification at a polling place. It is important to have partisans monitor activity at polling stations to ensure that the electoral processes are carried out in accordance with the law. However, it is equally, if not more, important that ballots be cast free from intimidation or undue delay.
To restate, in 27 of 33 NWT communities, fewer than half of residents hold active government-issued photo identification. Almost all of the approved additional documents that may be used as proof of residence are likely to contain personal financial information. The risk of unveiling personal financial information to a polling official, especially in small communities, is already a possible deterrent to voting. I'm concerned that this deterrent will be exacerbated if these documents may also be examined by partisans.
The riding of Western Arctic had a 53.9% voter turnout during the 2011 federal election. Along with many other northern ridings, it falls near or below the bottom 10th percentile for participation rates in federal elections. Allowing partisans to examine an elector's identification may, for some, be intimidating and inhibiting, and thus could cause even lower rates of participation in Canada's north.
I ask this committee to recommend removing the provisions of this bill that allow candidates or their representatives to examine elector identification.
Finally, the summary of this bill clearly states that it is an objective to limit the Chief Electoral Officer's power to provide information to the public. With declining participation rates, it is not clear why it would be a policy objective to have fewer election-related messages.
Under current federal law, the Chief Electoral Officer may implement public information programs, particularly for “those persons and groups most likely to experience difficulties in exercising their democratic rights.”
One such group is aboriginal peoples, who comprise 51% of the population in the Northwest Territories and whose participation in federal elections is already significantly lower than average. We know that the decision to participate turns on a sense of civic duty and a minimum level of political resources. Political parties and candidates are very well placed to offer political resources, but partisans are not necessarily interested or incentivized to convey a sense of civic duty to all eligible electors.
The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada is best positioned to answer for all Canadians why voting matters.
I am concerned that limiting the information provided by the Chief Electoral Officer may have a disproportionate effect on aboriginal electors in Canada, a group of people who comprise a majority in the Northwest Territories. I ask this committee to recommend removing the provisions of this bill that limit the power of communication by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada.
That concludes my opening statement.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.