Thank you for inviting us to appear here today on unceded Algonquin territory. My name is Peter Dinsdale. I am a member of Curve Lake First Nation and acting chief executive officer of the Assembly of First Nations.
I am joined by Karen Campbell, our director of policy; Tonio Sadik, an associate director; and Aaron Asselstine, one of our policy analysts. They are much smarter than I am and can answer all the tough questions if I need them to.
You may be aware that the Assembly of First Nations is the national political advocacy organization representing more than 630 first nation governments in Canada. We've identified a number of very specific concerns with respect to Bill C-23 and the changes it would make to the Canada Elections Act.
Frankly, the relationship between first nations and Canada is complex. This is also the case of engagement of first nations citizens in elections for all levels of government. We need to keep in mind that previous to March 31, 1960, registered Indians were not able to vote in Canadian elections. If they did, they would no longer be considered Indians under the law and couldn't even live in their home communities.
While we don't have precise information on first nation voting rates, estimates range between 35% and 75% across Canada's different regions. There are a number of reasons why first nations citizens may not participate in federal elections but none of them should arise as a result of barriers that are created at the federal level.
The first nation population is very young. Almost half the population is under the age of 25 and they have very high rates of mobility and high representation among transient groups. There's no question that this subset of first nations citizen votes at a very low rate.
An AFN resolution from 2004 on electoral reform and increased first nation voter turnout directed the AFN to embark on a voter awareness campaign for first nations, given the direct impact that the Canadian Parliament has on first nations rights and interests. Additionally, the resolution directed AFN to explore options for electoral reform.
In 2005, the Assembly of First Nations and Elections Canada hosted a two-day first nation voter turnout forum that recommended the development of a communications strategy and collaborative public education outreach focused on sharing information with first nation voters. The AFN undertook a number of joint initiatives with Elections Canada to do so, developing information materials on how to vote, hosting a first nation voter kiosk at first nation gatherings, and broadcasting public service announcements, featuring former national chief Phil Fontaine on APTN. AFN also worked in partnership with Elections Canada to provide information to first nations on how to vote.
In 2007, in advance of the 2008 election, a number of changes were made to the Canada Elections Act with respect to ID requirements. These changes required voters to present two pieces of ID, one with a photo and another to include a home address of the voter to prove their residency. Many first nation communities don't use home addresses in this manner and many are serviced by postal boxes. Additionally, many first nation citizens living in urban areas, including students, may not have ID that corresponds with a current address at the time of voting.
The AFN contacted first nation communities directly in both 2008 and 2011 to help ensure that bands were aware of the ID requirements and options available to resident voters, including the option of having band officials issue an attestation of residence, the use of voter information cards to establish current residency, or the option of vouching, where someone who is already a registered voter from the same polling division is able to confirm a person's residence and identity.
Our efforts since 2011 have included phoning band offices directly, using a series of scripts developed jointly with Elections Canada, in 20 electoral districts, which were selected based on their geography, primarily north of the 55th parallel, and where the proportion of eligible voters, meaning those with high numbers of first nations people and election participation history, were deemed to have low participation.
What we found in this work is that there is a clear role for an independent organization to work directly with first nations to provide information about voting. While Elections Canada has some materials that could be made available to electors generally, they were assessed as less than optimal for first nations for a variety of reasons, including their legalistic tone and their generic approach.
During the election, returning officers are responsible for administering electoral processes in their ridings through direct contact with the first nations. AFN found that the amount and quality of information transmitted to first nation communities by these returning officers varied significantly.
Much more can be done to enhance first nation participation in federal elections and our relationship with Elections Canada has sought to build this over the past several elections. I'm not sure how many witnesses you have coming before you that can speak to this direct level of participation in order to raise awareness and encourage participation in this manner.
In this context, we have two specific concerns with the proposed changes under Bill C-23. The first is the restrictive ID requirements and disallowance of vouching. These provisions that disallow voter information cards as proof of residency will create a new barrier to first nations citizens wishing to vote, particularly those residing in first nation communities who don't use a home address or who have recently moved or are living in overcrowded housing situations, which we know exist.
Further, with the removal of vouching as an option, it is possible that some of these first nations citizens will have few or no options available to them to vote in the next election.
The second concern is the limits on communication between the Chief Electoral Officer and voters.
As I mentioned, we worked productively with Elections Canada in a non-partisan capacity over the past three federal elections to help ensure that first nation voters had information on how to participate in elections. Bill C-23 proposes significant changes to current section 18 of the Elections Act, eliminating the ability of the Chief Electoral Officer to communicate with electors or provide information through unsolicited calls.
These changes, it would seem, would eliminate our efforts to reach out to band offices to provide information for an upcoming election. The role of Elections Canada has included providing impartial support for fair and accessible elections that enable all eligible voters to exercise their right to vote if they so choose. The changes noted above will limit or prevent this role from being fulfilled.
Therefore, the AFN recommends removing from Bill C-23 any amendments to section 18 so as to retain the current mandate for the Chief Electoral Officer to implement public education and information programs and 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.
Secondly, the AFN recommends that provisions that remove the ability to use voter information cards as a proof of residency and that disallow vouching be struck from this bill.
First nations are determining how they want to interact with their own governments and more broadly with the Canadian state. These changes limit their options and ability to be engaged in a Canadian electoral democracy and to have equal say in its outcomes. We believe this is a step backwards.
Meegwetch. Thank you very much.