Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'm really encouraged and buoyed by Ms. Blaney's comments here, because what we've seen today in these various recommendations, and again it's worth repeating, is well outside the scope of what this committee's mandate is throughout this COVID-19 crisis. I'm glad to hear Ms. Blaney speak in the manner in which she has, because my concern is that the governing side is using this crisis, this study, as a way to completely transform Parliament as it exists today. Again, I repeat that we're heading down a dangerous slope.
I want to go back to what Mr. Turnbull was talking about.
Ryan, you can't just cherry-pick things to suit your narrative. You have to look at everything in the context in which it was submitted. I have the letter in front of me here, and it says, “The existing level of assurance as to the identity of Members participating in divisions in person cannot be fully replicated under the remote system without (a) development work which could not be undertaken to the timescale demanded”—which we're under, and Ms. Blaney spoke about the fact that we haven't had the in-depth study that we should have on the remote voting system or the virtual voting system—“and (b) expenditure which cannot be justified by the temporary nature of the system. The integrity of the remote system depends on the care taken by each individual Member over authentication.”
I'll go on before I explain what that means. It continues, “For this reason the system can only be a temporary means to allow Members to cast votes in divisions for as long as the extraordinary conditions which prevent many from coming to the Chamber persist.”
The issue over authentication is an important one, because what he's saying in that letter, at least my interpretation of what he's saying, is that there is no way to authenticate whether in fact it is the member who is voting. Perhaps it's a staff member. Until and unless those situations are resolved, and they have not been at this point, any suggestion that we move forward with this—to Ms. Blaney's concerns, and quite frankly, to my concerns, and I'm sure there are others who share in these—is not the time to be looking at electronic voting in the manner in which it's being proposed.
We have to push this off. To look at this in the context of what we're studying right now under the current pandemic, to suggest that somehow we move forward with this, this is not the time, nor is it the place to do this.
I'm really pleased to see that there are others who are starting to realize what the hell is going on here.