Procedure and House Affairs Committee on April 30th, 2014

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Now we'll move to amendment LIB-11. It conflicts with amendment PV-22, which has a line conflict, so again there will be the same piece.

On LIB-11, we'll hear Mr. Simms.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

I think this carries on the same general theme: returning officers appoint deputy returning officers and poll clerks 24 days before....

I think you'll note that they're slightly different, obviously. This is a technical fix:

Within 24 hours after appointing the deputy returning officers and poll clerks, the returning officer shall send a written notice of the appointments to the candidates

Obviously, as you can read, I think this is pretty self-explanatory, so I think we should just get to the vote.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Ms. May, amendment PV-22 is part of this, and it's slightly different. Do you have a few words to say on it?

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Our attempt here, of course, is to ensure that, as in previous defeated amendments, poll clerks are appointed and deputy returning officers and poll clerks will be appointed solely on the basis of merit and that the process should be fair and transparent.

There are some proposed paragraphs and a proposed new section, but they all go to the effect of appointing poll clerks and returning officers on the basis of merit and then giving timely notification to registered parties and registered candidates.

So, yes, it's largely to the same effect, but with slightly different wording.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

We will vote on LIB-11.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

I call for a recorded vote, please.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

We will have a recorded vote on amendments LIB-11 and PV-22.

(Amendment negatived: yeas 4; nays 5 [See Minutes of Proceedings])

(Clause 20 agreed to on division)

(On clause 21)

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

We move on to amendment NDP-20.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

I will move amendment NDP-20. This concerns the registration offices.

The system in question within the Canada Elections Act and tweaked by Bill C-23 again involves a system of appointing after nomination lists from parties; those lists can be closed, so that becomes, de facto, pure nominations. Again, to be consistent, this is a whole package, which this would have been if we'd been succeeding on each vote, and it states, “Each registration officer shall be appointed by the returning officer on the basis of merit, following a process that is fair and transparent.”

I should also say that if the government MPs had been onside with this, towards the end of these amendments this would have been NDP-22, closing out the package. Having listened a bit to what the government was saying on their own concerns, we would have proposed the following: that the Chief Electoral Officer shall publish guidelines on the criteria and procedures associated with appointing electoral workers on the basis of merit, following a process that's fair and transparent.

We would have put in a “for greater certainty” clause showing that persons associated with political parties and persons nominated by candidates of parties in any election are fully entitled to be appointed on the same basis as any other person. Also, we would have created a mechanism, not a cumbersome one, but a basic way in which parties could direct people to Elections Canada or the returning officer to make sure they are considered under this process.

If we had succeeded with deputy returning officers, poll clerks, and now the registration officer—I've realized that we're not going to succeed—we would have been trying to assuage some of the concerns of the governing side, in that this process nonetheless would have produced appointments of election day officials that are, in our view, let's just say, fit for the 21st century.

We do think that elections commissions around the world generally are responsible for the appointment of election day workers. Scrutineers are the party's business. Election day workers should be Elections Canada's. That is why this is the third of the three amendments, and I hereby move it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Thank you very much.

This will also affect or include amendments LIB-12 and PV-23, as the similarity is there.

We'll vote on NDP-20.

[An hon. member]

A recorded vote.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

I'm sorry. I did not give either of you an opportunity to speak to your pieces.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

On a point of order, Mr. Chair, could I ask for clarification? Did you lump LIB-12 in with that?

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Yes, I did.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

I'm finding that it's a little different.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

It is different, but it's changing the same lines.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

True, but we're also talking about some matters in here that may be of concern, such as “at least 24 days before polling day” and also paragraph (4). With your direction, how do we proceed with this if I feel that I don't necessarily agree with lumping that in or linking them?

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

First, you know that your chair makes so few mistakes, but I'll ask for advice.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Oh, that's understood; that's why I'm as shocked as you are.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

I'm told that we can do the three separately. When one's defeated, you can propose the next one, but I think you're probably going to know by then how it's going to turn out. Do we want to do it that way, or do we want the fact that they're trying to change the same line three times, to do it at one—

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Of course. We spent time doing this.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

Okay, then let's do it.

We'll vote on amendment NDP-20 by itself.

[An hon. member]

A recorded vote, Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joe Preston]

We'll have a recorded vote.

(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])

That is defeated. Amendments LIB-12 and PV-23 are exactly the same, so we will deal with them in the same way at the same time.