Procedure and House Affairs Committee on June 5th, 2018

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Sorry, I don't mean to cut you off. We don't have a lot of time. The reason that I ask is that now we're looking at more involvement by Elections Canada, not only just where and when to vote, which is obviously applicable to here, but to encourage them to be more proactive as to the voting in the next election and that it's easier, and it's a constitutional right.

Do you think this will help Elections Canada? Do you think they have a ways to go when it comes to promoting voting for members of the military?

[Col Vihar Joshi]

Certainly informing members about how to vote and their right to vote will help. Through the education program, that certainly will help get the message out to Canadian Forces' electors on how they can vote and where they can vote. I think it will go a long way to encouraging people to exercise their right to vote.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

That's good to hear. It may not be particularly pertinent on Bill C-76, but certainly your message that maybe Elections Canada step up a bit to inform people about the statement of ordinary residence, and so on.... It's not to say that you're not. I'm just thinking you could always use some help.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Larry Bagnell]

We'll go back to Tom.

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

I will go back to the commissioner for one last question, and then I will hand it over to my colleague.

Organizations and political parties usually have a privacy officer. It just came to me at the end of our exchange that there are certified professionals in human resources who work in a lot of these places.

Doesn't this partly also make the case for ensuring our people are certified, and that they have professional standards to meet in order to ensure that privacy rules are in place? I know you said that in this particular piece of legislation it doesn't outline exactly the contents of the privacy rule for the workplace or for the organization. If you have certified people there managing it, their professional college will ensure that it meets certain requirements set out. I was a registrar before. Privacy is part of human resources' standards of practice, the kind of professional code they have. In Quebec there's a registered association that oversees this, just like for accountants who oversee audited financial statements.

Doesn't this make the case for ensuring there are certified people in those organizations, including political parties?

[Daniel Therrien]

PIPEDA has accountability as one of its 10 principles. The accountability principle requires organizations subject to PIPEDA to appoint a point of contact for consumers or individuals, and that person has certain responsibilities for privacy protection within the organization.

There is no certification per se in privacy. There are some associations and courses given so there is a semi-certification process. Certainly, it is desirable that the point of contact be quite knowledgeable in privacy legislation, but at this point it is not a strict requirement.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Colonel Joshi, thanks for your service to our country.

I would say there are a lot of things in this legislation that I have concerns with, but—surprise—there are some things in a bill this size that I do agree with. This is one of those areas that is going to make it easier for the men and women who serve our country in uniform to have voting options. I think that's a great thing.

At the end of the day, those of you who serve our country in uniform are the ones who protect our right to vote, and the least we can do is to make it a little easier for you to exercise that right. It's something I do appreciate in this legislation.

I want to touch on it a bit and get a bit more from you. You mentioned the current provisions, where there is the SOR and where the only option for Canadian Forces electors is that period called the military voting period that's between 14 days and nine days before the election. That's the only option currently, correct?

[Col Vihar Joshi]

There is a very slight window. For people who happen to live in the district that pertains to their SOR, they can vote but only on polling day.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

So it's only if that exists. We're not just talking about those who were deployed overseas; we're talking about anybody, even on a base here in Canada unless it happens to be the riding that's in their SOR.

[Col Vihar Joshi]

That is correct.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

One can understand why that might have been the case for someone deployed overseas, but certainly on a base here in Canada you would think that other options should be available. So it's good to see.

Do you want to give us some hints as to what the challenges would be for someone to vote who would be deployed overseas? This business of 14 to nine days I can see being a problem, but what other methods are available for someone who is deployed overseas, and how would they utilize them?

[Col Vihar Joshi]

We will be maintaining the military vote for overseas members. They will still be able to avail themselves of that mechanism.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

It would still be only in that small five-day period.

[Col Vihar Joshi]

That is correct. It would be if they were to avail themselves of that—

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Would that be a challenge, that five-day period? Obviously on certain missions, maybe during that period of time you would not be where voting would be possible.

[Col Vihar Joshi]

It could be a challenge, but every effort is made to ensure that the ability to vote is there. There are systems in place to—

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Why not just expand that window?

[Col Vihar Joshi]

The big issue is to get the ballots back to Ottawa to be counted. It's a logistical issue.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

I get that at a certain point they have to get back. You could probably allow it a little sooner, I don't know. Can you explain to us what other options might be available for personnel deployed overseas?

[Col Vihar Joshi]

The other options would be the same that are available to Canadian citizens who are abroad.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

You mean a mail ballot?

[Col Vihar Joshi]

Yes, if that's a possibility, depending on where they're serving at the time.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Are there any other options? Would that be the extent of it at that point, the special ballot process where you mail it to the military base or wherever? Or would they still use the process that exists now, the only difference being that they wouldn't have declared a place of ordinary residence? What would that look like?

[Col Vihar Joshi]

Their place of ordinary residence would be the ordinary residence before they went overseas.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

It would be on the register of electors rather than in some separate—