This would modify the proposed new section 18.01. I think it will be helpful if I read what proposed section 18.01 of Bill C-23 says. It's very short:
The Chief Electoral Officer may, at the Governor in Council’s request, provide assistance and cooperation in electoral matters to electoral agencies in other countries or to international organizations.
We heard testimony from the CEO of the Northwest Territories, who actually expressed in quite eloquent terms considerable concern about this, because his view was that, as written it looks to any external agency as though Elections Canada is a foreign policy arm of the Canadian government when it interacts with foreign election commissions or with international organizations' elections operations. The practice tends to be—but I'm not sure it really needs to be stuck in a bill—that the Chief Electoral Officer doesn't go and interact and do missions without having sounded that out and having obtained approval from cabinet.
I think it is a big mistake to include it in the bill, because doing so sends a signal of a compromised independence. For that reason my amendment would delete the words “at the Governor in Council's request” and simply would give him that authority, which he already has.