Evidence of meeting #123 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 clause.
A video is available from Parliament.
6:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
I probably have it with me.
Is there any discussion on this amendment? If you're a young elector and you want to get on the list, it's being proposed that if you're under 16, you need parental consent. Right now you don't need parental consent for the list at any age, which goes down to 14, I think still, because the other amendment was defeated.
6:15 p.m.
Calgary Midnapore, CPC
Yes, CPC-2 was defeated, so it is not included.
We certainly live in an age of the Internet and threats on the Internet. I think that parents have not only the obligation but also the right to know what their children are up to on the Internet. I think that something such as signing up for the voting registry is significant, and I certainly would want to know if my children were doing that.
I don't think that it is an unreasonable request or position to ask for this parental consent as a requirement for 14- and 15-year-olds to be on the voting registry.
6:15 p.m.
Liberal
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
I think our objective here is to knock down barriers to youth participation. I think putting up new ones is not helpful to our purposes here, so I'll be opposing this amendment.
6:15 p.m.
Liberal
Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North, ON
If only we were so blessed that our children were trying to sign up for a pre-electoral list online rather than doing other things, I think I'd be really happy and wouldn't need to know. Anyway, that's my opinion.
6:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Is there anyone else?
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings)
(Clause 36 agreed to)
(On clause 37)
Note that if we pass this amendment, LIB-2 cannot be moved because they amend the same line. We're at CPC-13, and this is about having to report people, not only people who are on the list but also people who are being removed from the list.
Stephanie, do you want to...?
6:15 p.m.
Calgary Midnapore, CPC
Okay.
Is this the amendment that I suggested in my list of amendments? Is that what this is referring to, the 9950142?
6:15 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
It's one of the original ones, and it's relating to when the people have to provide lists. Your other one will be right after this one—
6:15 p.m.
Liberal
6:15 p.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Every campaign runs into this. I think sometimes the electoral lists are not “cleaned”, and we end up trying to contact dead people, to not put too rough a point on it.
It can be quite traumatic. I don't know if any of you have gone through it, but when you try to contact somebody and you remind them that their husband, wife, or family member has passed, it's not a great call to make. It's kind of frustrating.
If this ups the bar for the electoral list and allows Elections Canada to provide a cleaner list to us, I think that would be nothing but good.
6:20 p.m.
Conservative
John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON
I would propose a subamendment in the hopes of maybe reconciling with Mr. Graham's amendment that's forthcoming. I have this in writing and I'll hand it over to you.
It reads, “That amendment CPC-13 be amended by adding, after the words “tors — of”, the following: 'in electronic form, or in formats that include electronic form' ”
6:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Okay. Basically the subamendment puts in what's going to be in LIB-2, but it keeps the fact that they must report on who's removed from the list.
We have Mr. Graham now.
6:20 p.m.
Liberal
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
There's technology from the 1970s, even the 1960s, called a TIFF, that lets you get a list and then compare it to the old list and see where the differences are.
When Elections Canada sends its updated lists, dead people are already supposed to be removed. If they're not, sending this list isn't going to change that fact. I don't see the purpose of the amendment in the first place, and I don't see what the purpose is of sending a list of only deceased people. I don't see any advantage to this.
I appreciate what you're trying to do, John, but I can't support your amendment in the first place.
6:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
—suggestion of the need to report people who were deleted from the list as well as giving the updated list?
6:20 p.m.
LCdr Jean-François Morin
As was just said, this amendment would require Elections Canada to send the list of deceased people who were specifically removed from the list.
I cannot comment on the need, but these persons are not on the list of electors that is provided by Elections Canada anymore, so....
6:20 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Okay.
I'd like to welcome Luc Thériault from the BQ. Thank you for coming.
So that people understand the subamendment, it will add in the electronic aspect that would be otherwise added in amendment LIB-2, but keep the nature of this amendment, CPC-13, to also provide a list of who has been deleted.
(Subamendment negatived)
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Going on to LIB-2, which is suggesting that Elections Canada also has to produce the list electronically, does someone want to introduce this?
6:20 p.m.
Liberal
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Sure.
It's to ensure continuity in the provision to registered parties of lists in electronic formats. Proposed amendments would clarify that such documents must remain available in electronic format, in addition to any other format that Elections Canada sees fit.
A similar provision would apply to the distribution of maps.
I think it's a pretty straightforward change.