Thank you.
Because I'm running short of time I'm going to turn my next comment to Mr. Thorsteinson.
Regarding the issue of voter information cards, I don't know whether you're aware of this, but under the regulations associated with the current legislation, voter information cards cannot be used as identification. The Chief Electoral Officer was proposing expanding their use, and at the last election there were some experiments done, but outside of those experimental areas, it was not permissible to use the voter information card as a form of voter identification.
It's an important distinction. I hear many people say, “Don't stop this from being done”. Well, we hadn't started doing it.
I just want to tell you of the concern I have with expanding the use of the voter information card and the reason that I'm happy to see that it is being prevented in this legislation. There are many errors in the voter information cards.
I'm turning here to a document, the report of the Chief Electoral Officer following the last general election. He tells us that the preliminary list for the 41st general election had 84% of electors listed at the correct address, which means that 16% were not. So we're talking about millions of people. The voter information cards are issued based on the preliminary list, not the final list, so we have 16% of people getting the wrong card or the wrong address.
To give one example, my ex-wife and I received cards advising us to vote in two different ridings because of some internal database error. Had she had that card as a piece of identification, she could have voted in the wrong riding.
I don't see how Elections Canada can authorize someone to vote in the wrong riding—a riding she didn't live in—but that kind of thing occurs. Until that is resolved, until they have a perfect database, which seems unlikely, the use of the information card will inherently be problematic.
I wonder, based on that, whether you would concur with me that it is perhaps not the right way to resolve the issues that are particular to seniors relating to their ability to vote.