Evidence of meeting #124 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 election.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Right.
It says that 10 should be your guide, unless you're going to make an exception.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
Chris Bittle Liberal St. Catharines, ON
Unlike the previous amendment, this one seems to run counter to granting the CEO the flexibility to deal with the election and manage the election appropriately, so we're going to be opposed to it.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Well, the CEO can manage it; it's the returning officer who can't.
Mr. Graham, go ahead.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
I'm just going to ask the officials if there's anything that stops the CEO from saying you shouldn't have more than 10 at a location. He can say whatever he wants.
9:35 a.m.
LCdr Jean-François Morin
Actually, nothing stops the CEO from saying that it's no more than 10. The CEO, under paragraph 16(d) of the Canada Elections Act, has the power to make instructions to election officers. If I may add, the Chief Electoral Officer has already announced that for the 2019 general election he wouldn't be implementing the model of voting at any table, because he just doesn't have time to implement that.
Let's project ourselves into the future. At the following general election, if the model of voting at any table is allowed, the services to voters at the polling stations should be more efficient, and there should be much less of a wait at the table where you vote, because you will be able to go to the next available election officer. In that context, in very densely populated areas, it may be possible to administer a polling station with more than 10 polling divisions, if the flow of electors is very efficient.
9:35 a.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
So for 2019.... We're talking about 2023. In the coming election, a year from now, if there are long lineups, we can blame the Liberal government. Is that what you're saying? I just want to make sure I got the testimony. We're in public, right? I just wanted to clarify this one point.
9:35 a.m.
Liberal
9:35 a.m.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
Mr. Chair, I'm not sure I fully understood the witness' remarks.
Mr. Morin, could you please repeat that in French?
9:35 a.m.
LCdr Jean-François Morin
In his last recommendation report, the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada made several recommendations to modernize services to voters at polling stations. It was noted that polling stations were slowed down by the fact that every voter had to go to the polling station associated with the voter's polling division.
The changes made by Bill C-76 will eventually give the Chief Electoral Officer the flexibility to group several polling divisions at a single polling station. When voters arrive, they will be able to vote at the first table available, rather than having to line up in front of the table for their polling division.
9:35 a.m.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
So it's basically like voting at the advance poll. It would be like holding a big advance poll on the big day.
9:35 a.m.
LCdr Jean-François Morin
That's more or less the case. Yes, there are similarities to advance polling, but changes have been made—this is found in some provisions and in the schedule of the bill—so that election officers will have to write the voter's polling division number on the back of the ballot on election day. At the end of the day, the results will still be counted by polling division and reported in this way in the official poll results.
9:40 a.m.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
I am referring to advance polling because it is often when frustration is expressed about the flow of the vote. What causes this lack of flow? This is precisely due to the concentration of ballot boxes in a single section. It takes people a long time to find a voter's name on the list to register that they have just voted. The hope or claim is that this will work more smoothly, but let me voice a concern.
If all this were done by computer, it might be another story.
On election day, there are trained scrutineers on site, but, by the way, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find and train these scrutineers. It often takes some time for scrutineers to find the voter's name on the list in a single polling division. I just wanted to tell you that this is not necessarily the best way. Perhaps the process for identifying voters should be reviewed. Indeed, at each election, that is the problem. I have been voting for several years now, and that is what I noticed. The difficulty is not that the voter has to go to a particular place, but rather the time required for the voter to be identified and to be recorded as having voted.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
So with the new change, which is not coming in for this election, there's a new thing on the ballot that specifies the polling division. Because you can go to any table, it will be on the ballot, so you'll know which polling division you're voting in. So there's no change there. That's in the general.... I'm not talking about the advance poll.
9:40 a.m.
Bloc
Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC
This is about recounting. However, I do not believe that this approach will make voting more fluid.
In terms of the number of boxes per voting location, I think it is becoming increasingly difficult for returning officers to find places to hold the vote. From year to year, we get to know the different voting locations. They are established by all organizations and by returning officers, who have often been in office for years. It is possible that one facility may allow more than 10 boxes. Under these circumstances, I don't see why we should strictly limit ourselves to 10 boxes. In each election, few places have been inadequate. When this happened, the situation was corrected. Very large gyms or facilities can provide much more than 10 boxes. In the constituencies, it is institutionalized. We all already have such places.
That's what I had to say.
9:40 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Okay.
Welcome, Elizabeth May, from the Parti vert.
Are we ready for the question on CPC-26?
(Amendment negatived [See Minutes of Proceedings])
(Clause 86 agreed to on division)
(On clause 87)
I just want to make a comment on the next two amendments, CPC-27 and CPC-28. If anyone is interested in both of these, they might want to amend the first one, because the second one won't be able to be put forward, because it's on the same line. It's talking about providing the candidate the information. The returning officer has to give the information on the addresses of all the polling stations. CPC-27 is saying they should also have to give the polling divisions at each station. The one after that says that they should also give the number of ballot boxes or any changes in the ballot boxes.
If you would like both of those ideas to be given to the candidate, you're going to have to amend the first one. Otherwise you won't be able to bring forward the second one, because it's amending the same line as the first one. That's the way I read all this last night.
It's open for discussion.
9:45 a.m.
Conservative
John Nater Conservative Perth—Wellington, ON
Chair, you read my mind. I would put a subamendment that CPC-27 be amended by deleting proposed paragraph (c). That would allow us, then, to move the other one if this one passes, as I'm sure it will.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Okay, that removes the problem of the next one not being able to be discussed.
Is there debate on the subamendment that CPC-27 be amended by deleting paragraph (c)?
(Subamendment negatived)
We're back to the discussion on the motion. The motion stands like this. The next one can't be added.
9:45 a.m.
Calgary Midnapore, CPC
I think the purpose of CPC-27 and CPC-28 is to allow better planification for the candidates. On election day, candidates are always looking for a good distribution of scrutineers and volunteers, and I think these amendments allow for better candidate planning going into the elections.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Elections Canada already does this by practice within their existing power. Is there any reason to do this?
9:45 a.m.
LCdr Jean-François Morin
You're right that Elections Canada already does this.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Larry Bagnell
Do they give to the candidates each polling division that's at a polling station?
9:45 a.m.
LCdr Jean-François Morin
Currently, each polling division is assigned to a single polling station, but of course, with the transition, they would provide the polling divisions assigned to each polling station.