Evidence of meeting #112 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 third.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL
I'm going to move to Mr. Marlatt for now, but I'll be back to you in second, though, especially if you're running against me. That's fine.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL
Mr. Marlatt, I appreciate the work that has gone into your report here. You're obviously not a fan of Bill C-23, to say the least, and I like what you had to say about not letting us get distracted by things and having us focus on the changes that need to be made, and then down the road we can discuss that even further.
I want to go back to something you said. I didn't quite get the whole thing, but there was something, a recommendation by the U.K. commission. Is that right?
Communications and Policy Director, Progressive Canadian Party
The Electoral Commission in the United Kingdom has established a base by which there is a long campaign and a short campaign period of auditing of all expenses by political parties.
Communications and Policy Director, Progressive Canadian Party
We are, in Bill C-76, proposing that auditing in a new pre-writ period begin with June 30. This is a period of time that is basically the summer months in advance of the dropping of the writ, a maximum of 50 days before the call of the election. That, I don't think, is sufficient. There is an opportunity for third parties, for political parties themselves, for the government by way of advertising programs that are subject to parliamentary approval—that is to say, if we get elected again—
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL
That's the part I couldn't quite catch at the beginning. What you're advocating for, then, is an extended pre-writ.... You're okay with the pre-writ period concept, obviously.
Communications and Policy Director, Progressive Canadian Party
I am with the concept that it needs to be made more effective by making it long enough so that it's not simply, in effect, that when the session ends here in June, the summer months become open season for politics. It's a useful idea to have that period subject to Elections Canada review and so on, but I think, as in the case with the U.K., the longer period also needs to be examined. In the event of a fixed-date election, the last full year of an election cycle is really where we see things being ramped up.
If you think about 2014-15, October 2014 was, in some respects, the beginning of the October 19, 2015, election. There was a huge movement to partisan statements that had very little to do with the public interest and public policy. They had to do, really, with getting ourselves re-elected.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL
In the context of what? Do you mean here on Parliament Hill or—
Communications and Policy Director, Progressive Canadian Party
I think everything that happened—
Liberal
Communications and Policy Director, Progressive Canadian Party
I think what was happening in the House of Commons and what was happening in the parties outside of Parliament Hill was all targeted toward October 19, 2015.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL
Do you think by expanding the definitions from what was prior—the election activities, the advertising, the election survey information, and the money spent to do all three—is that a very positive advance going forward, given the fact of what encompasses political campaigning?
Communications and Policy Director, Progressive Canadian Party
The concept that's driving the notion that June 30 should be the beginning point for Elections Canada auditing of expenses is a good one, but because we see that, in effect, it's beginning well before that, some oversight is required for a longer period. The period, and even the method—the Electoral Commission in the U.K. provides us an example—is worth investigating.
In looking at the implementation of Bill C-76, discussions with the Electoral Commission in the U.K. would be advisable, just as we did with the report of the McGrath Special Committee on Reform of the House of Commons. It's the same concept.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL
I see. I was wondering where the link was going, because I know that was specifically for the House of Commons, not necessarily for.... You're linking it through what the U.K. commission recommends.
This question is for both of you, on identification and the voter information cards. Certainly, Mr. Turmel, you've seen what it looks like.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL
We're now reinstating the voter information card—as a part, but not the only part—as a backstop to identification.
I want to get your thoughts on that, Mr. Marlatt.
Communications and Policy Director, Progressive Canadian Party
If you look at my historic past.... Before political involvement, I was a DRO in two federal elections—1993 and 1997. I've acted as a voting clerk and a voting officer with Elections BC, and subsequently in provincial elections, including the last one in 2017.
One of the things they use there, as we always have, was the voter elections card or its provincial equivalent. That, in conjunction with another piece of ID that can be provided—and there are various categories in which that applies—as opposed to insisting upon a kind of identification that some classes of people simply don't have. Sometimes they're students. Sometimes they are people in northern communities or aboriginal people. These people are marginalized. I don't want to press this too hard, but in the United States, where there is an active—at least according to the media—exercise of voter suppression, getting rid of something like the voter identification card seems to have been a key part of what they were doing.
We don't need voter suppression in Canada. We need voter participation. Reinstating this, and public education on the part of the Chief Electoral Officer and Elections Canada, are important things that were removed in Bill C-23 that Bill C-76 proposes to return. I commend that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Thank you.
Before we go on, I want to ask Mr. Turmel, how many elections did you run in and how many did you win?
As an Individual
I ran in 96, so I lost 92 and won.... The Guelph by-election was called off for the federal election, so that doesn't count as a loss. My loss record is always less than my wins, but the media always mentions “biggest loser”. I am the biggest contestant, too.