That's very kind, Mr. Chair.
Since we have two people here who work with the most disadvantaged in our society, the homeless, I'd like to pick up on something. The minister constantly refers to the 39 pieces of identification that can be used for voting purposes. What he doesn't explain, however, is the fact that you need two pieces of identification to vote, one of which has to show your address. He says that soup kitchens or shelters can provide a homeless person with a letter, but the person will still have just one piece of identification, one that doesn't list an address. Basically, if someone doesn't have a piece of identification showing their address, they cannot vote. They could have a health card and not necessarily be able to vote, even with a letter from a shelter.
The idea that a homeless person simply has to get a letter is problematic for another reason. To my mind, those who run homeless shelters have to invest a great deal of energy and resources to accomplish a myriad of tasks, so they don't necessarily have time to prepare a letter for someone so they can go and vote. I, for one, would much prefer that those in charge of shelters focus their energy on helping the homeless.
That really bothers me. I know you are quite familiar with the situation. The government says there isn't a problem, claiming that all these people have to do is get a letter, but the fact of the matter is it's a real problem. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the subject.