Regarding the existing process, technically electronic signatures would be acceptable from electors provided that the witness has also signed. That would be a process that may be complicated, but if a candidate or a prospective candidate had collected electronic signatures, signatures on the pages of nomination papers electronically from the elector and from the witness, it could be then uploaded to Elections Canada and then transmitted to the returning officer for verification. That process is permissible currently under the law. It is a process that is complicated.
What we've also looked at, if the witness requirement were waived, is having a system whereby electors could submit their electronic signatures on a website where they would endorse a candidate, but to develop and test that system in a manner that is comprehensive and that works would take somewhere between four and six months. This is where the thinking of Elections Canada has been up to now.