Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, it's good to see you again. Welcome back after your break. I've never had to be in that situation, but I can tell you it must have been absolutely wonderful at the same time. It is good to see you back again.
When we embarked upon this several years ago under what was then called the Fair Elections Act, there were some glaring omissions and glaring examples of what I thought was something that went against the idea that every Canadian citizen has a right to vote. It is our charter right to do so. There are things that bothered me.
The most egregious example to me was the voter information card, which we commonly call in rural Canada and the rest of Canada the voter identification card. Even though it doesn't carry that title, that is what it really is to these people. I used to see so many people, especially seniors, who would put a magnet on this card, and put it on their refrigerator to make sure that they went to vote. Not only was it a reminder, but it said who they were. I thought it was a great tool because it's one of the only national databases of identification. I'm glad to see that this legislation brings it back. I would love for you to comment on that.
The second part I would like for you to comment on is something which I thought was puzzling at the time. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the commissioner having the monetary penalties put now in front of them under this legislation, which I think is long overdue. They were removed from Elections Canada and put into public prosecutions where I thought the commissioner's role was still independent within Elections Canada, but they needed to be within that organization in order to get a better feel for their position.
There are two parts to the question. Could you talk about the VIC as we call it and also the commissioner being placed back to where they belong?