Thank you. That's very kind.
I want to thank the both of you for your remarks today. They were very informative. We're quite glad we were able to hear from you.
Today, I'd like to discuss one of the biggest changes being made to the Elections Canada Act. It concerns the role of Elections Canada as described in section 18.
Bill C-23 would amend the Elections Canada Act in such a way as to prevent the Chief Electoral Officer from giving the public much information as regards people with disabilities. That information concerns “the measures for assisting electors with a disability to access a polling station . . . or to mark a ballot.” Those are the changes being sought.
Section 18(1) of the Elections Canada Act currently reads as follows:
The Chief Electoral Officer may implement public education and information programs to make the electoral process better known to the public, particularly to those persons and groups most likely to experience difficulties in exercising their democratic rights.
Would you say that the groups you represent are among those who have greater difficulty than the general public when it comes to exercising their democratic rights?