Evidence of meeting #106 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was elections.
A video is available from Parliament.
7:45 p.m.
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Just so I understand clearly, with respect to the first amendment that you're proposing that deals with citizenship declaration, I understand the point, because passage of time is clear. We know that's going to happen, but we don't know that a ceremony is necessarily going to happen, so someone can't swear that in the event that something happens, that they don't attend the ceremony or whatever. Just so that I'm clear on the understanding of the amendment, if the amendment goes through, if you have someone who will become a Canadian citizen before election day, but is not able to vote on election day, is there any way that person would have the right to vote if this amendment were to go through?
7:50 p.m.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
No, if this amendment were to go through, the person would have to have become a citizen on polling day in order to vote.
7:50 p.m.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
The risk, if you don't go that way, is that somebody would cast a ballot, for example through a special ballot, and that person is not a citizen because the ceremony was cancelled or the person was denied citizenship on security grounds, for example, and the ballot is cast.
7:50 p.m.
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
Yes, I understand that. There's no other away around that. There's no other way of ensuring that person.... Can you think of another way of ensuring that person would be able to vote?
7:50 p.m.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
We've never allowed that. This is not a new policy direction for the legislation. It's simply what I feel is incorrect content in a formal declaration.
May 28th, 2018 / 7:50 p.m.
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
In a declaration, that makes sense.
We've talked quite a bit about the voter information card. I'm a big supporter of that, and I realize that the voter information card is not only beneficial to seniors, who often get the attention on this, but also with respect to students. Because there's been some question about this voter information card, I'd like your comments on how you feel about this serving as a piece of identification, and also your comments on whether you've ever seen or have data that demonstrates that the voter information card is used in a fraudulent way. Third, how many people were denied the ability to vote because they didn't have the proper identification in the last election?
7:50 p.m.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
I'll start with the last one. What we do know is that, from the labour force survey done by StatsCan at the last general election or after the last general election, 172,000 Canadians could not vote because of the voter identification requirements, including 50,000 who were turned away at the polls. That's the only hard data that we have on this matter that we can affirm.
Let's be clear. The use of the voter information card at the federal level has occurred in the by-election part of 2011, and in 2011 in specific circumstances. In those circumstances, I'm not aware of any complaints or incidents of alleged fraud using the voter information card.
It's also important to note that, of all the provinces in Canada, only seven require proof of address. It is still significant, seven jurisdictions: six provinces and one territory. All of the provinces allow the voter information card as proof of address along with another piece of ID. I'm not aware of any concerns at the provincial level in that regard.
7:50 p.m.
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
Thank you.
At a previous appearance, you made comments about ensuring the fundamental dignity of the person who is exercising their right to vote. Can you speak a bit about why you feel it's important that Canadians are empowered to exercise their right to vote on their own?
7:50 p.m.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
The right to vote is the most fundamental expression of autonomy that we have in our political system. We hear that a lot from voters with disabilities. They want to not only vote but to vote independently. For them, it's a very important issue of dignity. That's part of their autonomy as Canadians, to be equal with others. That's not just true for people with disabilities. I think the same is true for any voter who would be required to ask somebody else's permission, or to ask somebody else to attest or vouch—it doesn't matter which procedure—to allow them to vote. If we can find ways to minimize that, we maximize the circumstances in which a person can vote independently. I think that's an important issue.
7:50 p.m.
Liberal
7:50 p.m.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
Allowing a voting information card along with another piece of ID will allow many voters, who would otherwise require vouching or attestation under the current rules, to be able to go and vote and prove their residence without the need for assistance by somebody else.
7:55 p.m.
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
With respect to the attempt of C-76 to make it easier for people to vote, particularly those with disabilities, how does the technology work if someone is voting at home? How does that happen, if they opt to vote at home because they're going to have a problem getting to the polling station?
7:55 p.m.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
Right now, the only way people can vote at home is through a special ballot. These are people who cannot vote at their polling location and they're not able to vote at home independently. Through the special ballot rules, a poll worker comes with the returning officer and administers the vote at their home, with assistance.
7:55 p.m.
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
Is the requirement for that a physical disability, or does it also go beyond physical disability, in Bill C-76?
7:55 p.m.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
Bill C-76 expands it beyond physical disability.
7:55 p.m.
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
Would it include, for example, mental health?
7:55 p.m.
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
Youth are a passion for me. I think it's critical that we get them involved in the democratic process, because we're all going to benefit from their contributions. How do you see Elections Canada using the restored education mandate if C-76 passes?
7:55 p.m.
Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
To be clear, the current law allows us to reach out to underage Canadians. The bill would allow us to ignore the age distinction. We would be able to reach out in high schools, or in CEGEP in Quebec, where you may find some 18-year-olds, without any worry about that. That's an improvement. It would allow us to hire youth to work at the polls. The two go hand in hand. I think the minister spoke about youth at the booth. That program was used not only in British Columbia but in other provincial jurisdictions like Nova Scotia and other jurisdictions. Every time it's been used, it's been a success. It shows young Canadians the way the system works. It makes them familiar with the system. If we can combine the recruitment of youth with civic education and preregistration, we'll now have several levers at our disposal to improve youth understanding of the importance of voting, the mechanics of voting, and getting them engaged in the process.
