Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to thank all my colleagues for their very thoughtful comments, and Mr. Turnbull for bringing forward his motion.
I am concerned, as we are in wave two. The numbers are clear. We need to do everything possible to protect Canadians, particularly our most vulnerable. We have to recognize where we are. We are in a minority government, and confidence votes are going to come up now and again. It's absolutely incumbent upon us that we hear what planning is in place for an election, and to protect our democratic institutions. They have to be fully functional as we fight this pandemic.
In the spring, we had to be prepared for whatever the fall brought. In this second wave, we have to be prepared now for whatever comes. It's going to be really important to hear what measures Elections Canada is putting in place, so that Canadians can express their democratic right.
Members of the committee are talking about timelines. Could we think about an interim report due by November 23? The reason I say this is that we are in wave two. If you look at the case numbers, they're hovering between 2,000 and 2,200 in the country. Those are real case numbers from 10 to 14 days ago. We don't know where those numbers are going to go. It is the job of this committee to make sure that we are prepared should we have to go into an election and do so by protecting the health and safety of Canadians.
I would like to suggest that we keep Mr. Turnbull's motion, and we add an amendment to have an interim report.