Evidence of meeting #110 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 political.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Co-Founder, Democracy Watch
Yes. You don't have to limit it if a political finance system is democratic. The donation limit should be $100, or $200 at most. That's the amount that an average voter can afford. As in Quebec, the per-vote funding should be returned, because it was the most democratic part of the political finance system. It was proportional, based on your actual voter support. The current system is based on your support by wealthy interests.
NDP
Co-Founder, Democracy Watch
That was for financing. Do that with a $100 donation limit. You don't have to worry about the parties being able to spend more, because they won't have the money.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Let's talk about social media for a second. As it is right now, you call it self-regulation. If some foreign entity or someone breaking one of the laws in Bill C-76 buys $500,000 of Facebook ads, which would be a lot, to advocate for a political party or for an issue, unless Facebook reports that, unless the third party, the foreign entity, reports it, how would we know it happened?
Co-Founder, Democracy Watch
A voter might see it who is not intended to see it in terms of the micro-targeting, not be happy with it, and report it to Elections Canada.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Right. With getting all these ads for this pipeline, I don't know what's going on, who is paying for these ads. They have to report it to Elections Canada—
Co-Founder, Democracy Watch
There are lots of things in the election law already. You have to identify yourself on the ad.
Co-Founder, Democracy Watch
Their role is to say, “Let's not make this money; let's rat out this person.”
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Right now, under Bill C-76, what responsibility do they have?
Co-Founder, Democracy Watch
It's only if it's foreign that they can't knowingly take it. If it's domestic, they don't even have to report it. It's trusting them entirely and their incentive is to make the money, not to report the ad that will be stopped so that they don't get the money.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Someone has talked about having a cache of all the political ads, as we do for the print media, so that all political ads are captured by Elections Canada. If there's a political ad, there's something about having the same thing. Any political ad that Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram take, they'd have to put into a cache and report who paid for it and when it went out.
Co-Founder, Democracy Watch
Yes. Our recommendation is that this would occur during the six months leading up to the election. That's to enforce the laws that are there against false statements, spending above the limit, the foreign spending that's in this bill, and spending as an unregistered party or putting an ad out there that does not have you identified as a third party. In the six months before, Elections Canada should be watching.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I just want to say, Mr. Gunn, you do great work. All you guys do. You should be supported more.
Liberal
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Gunn and Mr. Conacher, for being here today. I'll start with Mr. Conacher.
I know that your passion is democracy and ensuring that people have an opportunity to participate in the democratic process. Can you speak about the way you believe Bill C-76 will contribute to voter participation? What are the strengths in Bill C-76 that you see?
Co-Founder, Democracy Watch
Voter participation, you're saying?
Co-Founder, Democracy Watch
Well, there are some measures for accessibility to the polls. Lowering the voter ID barrier is fine, but I didn't think it was a huge issue.
Liberal
Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON
You're speaking about the voter information cards?
Co-Founder, Democracy Watch
Yes, given that 29 pieces of ID could be used before, I think anyone who wanted to vote would have been able to satisfy the requirements. But it's fine to lower it, and it's fine to lower it for expats.
I mentioned that these are all good changes. I haven't spoken on any of them because we don't really have any qualms about them. You can debate whether someone who is abroad forever with no intention of returning should have the right to vote, but they don't vote, so it's not a big problem. That's why I say that most of the changes are good, in good directions, but I don't think they're going to change much of what actually happens, because I don't think they....
Even saying that Elections Canada can only inform people about how to vote, when that was done, voter turnout went up by the highest amount in the last election, from election to election, since Confederation.
A lot of the issues about the unfair elections act were unfair because the act didn't address the 10 things I listed, which this act does not address, either. It's not modernizing elections. It's still allowing a lot of old-fashioned, unfair, and undemocratic practices.
