Evidence of meeting #4 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was election.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:45 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Thank you.
I'm happy to take the balance of Mr. Therrien's time, if he's okay with that.
12:45 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
You were very clear in your presentation that it's Elections Canada's opinion that maximizing the writ period under the current legislation would be advantageous to pulling off an election successfully, but it's not in your legislative proposal, which I recognize has a sunset clause.
I'm wondering if you could speak to the reasons that you didn't propose, in your example, legislation under the condition of the sunset clause that the writ period be designated at the current maximum, which I believe is 51 days or somewhere thereabouts. Could you give us the reasons? Maybe I would also ask if you could comment on whether or not you would look favourably on the committee's recommending in its interim report that the legislation be altered to require that longer writ period.
12:45 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
My only reservation is that we don't know when it's going to be called, and there may be, for example, Christmas or other circumstances where it may be a necessity to vary the duration. Outside of a fixed-date election, I think there has to be some flexibility. I would look favourably, if that's the will of the committee, on extending that period to have a minimum of more than 36 days. That is something I would look on favourably.
If I may, on that, the challenges of recruiting were raised earlier, but another big challenge with a snap election is that returning officers would have to open their offices. They don't know in advance when that would happen. We have to equip the offices to be functional, and then they need to find polling places in time to prepare the voter information cards indicating where the polling locations are. So, there's a very, very tight period in a short election scenario to get all of these things done. Any additional time at the outset would allow us to secure locations, prepare the VICs and recruit. It would also allow the mail-in ballots to be processed.
Quite clearly, I would look favourably if it were a longer period. If there's a desire to do so, yes, I would welcome that.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
I just want to come back to the question of advance polls. From what I gather in your proposal, you're not talking about substantially changing the provisions for advance polls. I'm wondering if you could give us insight about whether or not it would make sense to have more advance voting days in the current context or to move the usual Thursday/Friday advance polls to a separate weekend to spread that out. What might the advantages of that be, and why wasn't that part of your initial recommendation?
12:50 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
What I am recommending is that, if we have weekend voting instead of Monday voting, we move back the advance polls by one day so that we can complete the list and make sure that we strike out the names of people who voted in advance. From an integrity point of view and the capacity of managing that, I recommend that we move it back one day.
I also recommend that we reduce the hours, because we're finding out that it's very tough on poll workers to work 12-hour days even without a mask on. With a mask and a shield on, I think that would be difficult.
Within that framework, there's nothing that prevents me from adding polling locations, so to the extent that we are capable of doing that, our goal is to maximize advance polling opportunities, not by adding days—because four days is already quite significant—but by adding polling locations so that they're closer to electors. I think, if you go outside urban areas, you'll find that advance polls are not always convenient for voters because they're away, so adding locations is a very important target, if we can do that.
12:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ruby Sahota
Thank you so much.
Next we have Mr. Lukiwski and Mr. Tochor sharing their five-minute slot.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski Conservative Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK
Thank you very much, Chair, and thank you, Monsieur Perrault.
My question is regarding election workers. You've already identified that it's going to be a challenge this year because many of our election day and poll workers are older and may be somewhat reluctant to come out this year because of COVID concerns.
Also in past years, even when there wasn't a pandemic, we've always had problems getting election workers. It's been quite common for the DROs to contact election candidates within a riding association to see if they can suggest names.
I'm asking you, sir, if you have any plans to try to address the situation of perhaps a lack of election workers for this upcoming election, whenever it may be called, including whether or not you've even considered increasing the pay of poll clerks and workers to try to attract new blood. What are your thoughts on that?
12:50 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
There are recruitment strategies, and we've talked about that, and we'll try to target other audiences. If we get this weekend voting, we'll have a larger pool of workers.
As for the pay, we are making recommendations to Treasury Board to modernize and upgrade the tariff of fees. If that doesn't get done before an election is called, I do have some discretion to vary the tariff of fees. I've done that in these by-elections.
When combining the role of the poll clerk and deputy returning officer, I'm asking them to do more and to do more in a harder conditions, so I'm upgrading their salary a little bit for that reason.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski Conservative Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, SK
Thank you.
I turn it over to Mr. Tocher.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Corey Tochor Conservative Saskatoon—University, SK
Thank you.
My questions concern the improvements to the act, and I hope we really do have a chance to look at the improvements before we go into an election.
I believe in Elections Canada. I believe in you, in your ability to hold a fair election, but if we don't get a chance to make those improvements, especially to the emergency powers, what happens when a province, unfortunately, goes through a very severe outbreak and has stay-in for its population? If we don't have the improvements, and we go back to whatever has been passed, what happens? What tools do you have at your disposal if a stay-in order has been issued for an entire province?
12:55 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
It's important to clarify one thing. Regarding long-term care, which includes in our legislation seniors homes, I'm asking for flexibility—which I currently have, in a way, through the adaptation power.
I'm asking for it because, given that I know in advance that I will adapt a law, out of deference to Parliament, I'm saying put the flexibility yourself in that legislation. If there's no bill or the bill doesn't pass, for that measure, which in my view is a critical one, I do have an adaptation power.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
Corey Tochor Conservative Saskatoon—University, SK
What about the general public, if everyone has to stay at home?
12:55 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
If everybody has to stay at home, that is basically a catastrophic scenario. That raises the question of section 59. Sorry for being technical, but section 59 is the recommendation to cancel or postpone an election. If I don't have poll workers, and voters and everybody has to stay at home, I simply don't have an election.
What I've said on that point before is that Canada is not a vote-by-mail, wall-to-wall country. That is not our service. Our regime contemplates a range of voting options. It's one thing to have some restrictions and some limitations, but conducting an election entirely by mail is not what this legislation contemplates.
In your dramatic scenario, this would bring up the question of the use of the power to recommend cancelling an election on a per riding basis.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
Corey Tochor Conservative Saskatoon—University, SK
In that scenario, let's say a stay-in order for the whole province of Ontario has been issued. Do we push back voting in all of those ridings for a month until hopefully we get a handle on the pandemic? How do you see that playing out? It's happened already this year.
12:55 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
I don't know that there have been any circumstances this year where I would be prevented from running an election, or maybe at the outset of the outbreak when there was more confusion amongst the population.
In your scenario, if I recommend to the Governor in Council to cancel the writ, it is the decision of the Governor in Council. They must, by law, call a new election for those districts within three months. Technically, then, the scenario can be repeated if it's not better in three months.
That is the absolute worst-case scenario in the books.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
Corey Tochor Conservative Saskatoon—University, SK
Let's hope and pray that doesn't happen.
Once again, thank you for the hard work you and your staff are doing to make sure we have fair elections in Canada.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ruby Sahota
Thank you.
Mr. Alghabra is the last speaker. I'll ask for your patience for about 30 seconds after, so I can make an announcement.
Go ahead, Mr. Alghabra.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Omar Alghabra Liberal Mississauga Centre, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Perrault, let me correct myself. A colleague reminded me that we are in a pandemic, so condo facilities would probably still be available on weekends because there are no events being held.
You saw how I asked about the weekends and election day. I am concerned about completely removing election day as a Monday because of the traditions and perhaps people being away on weekends, etc. How would you feel if we added the weekend before election day, as you propose, but also kept Monday with shorter hours? How would you feel about that?
12:55 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
This is something we have considered and decided against because of the difficulty of having the polling location.
Let's say we get access to a school on the weekend for a particular area. We will not have that school for the Monday, so we will not be able to pursue the voting operations. Then we also face the recruitment challenges of having a very large number of workers available on a Monday. For that reason, I've decide to recommend having entirely weekend voting, keeping in mind there is weekday voting at advanced polls. It would be on my recommendation that these be the Thursday and Friday prior to the proceeding weekend, so there are two days of advanced voting that are not weekend days.
12:55 p.m.
Liberal
Omar Alghabra Liberal Mississauga Centre, ON
I have concerns about people's awareness. As we know, as humans we may procrastinate sometimes. We may wait till election day and some of the mail-in ballots may still arriving on Monday. Anyway, I think it's interesting for our committee to study this.
This is my last question for you. Obviously, it is Elections Canada that regulates the conduct of candidates and parties. Have you thought about regulating how candidates conduct their campaign within a pandemic?
1 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
We do not have any authority to regulate how candidates campaign during the pandemic. I want to be clear about that. There are rights to campaign in the act, for example accessing buildings such as apartment buildings. There are limitations in these provisions for health reasons. That's governed by the Elections Act.
Our role is inform candidates and landlords, and sensitize candidates to that. We've also taken measures.... For example, you will all know, having been candidates, that you need 100 signatures. That can be a challenge. In the by-elections, we have single-page signatures. That was recommended by the public health authorities, so that we don't pass around the same page from one elector to another.
We are assisting campaigns in that way, but we don't have the authority to regulate their behaviour.
1 p.m.
Liberal
Omar Alghabra Liberal Mississauga Centre, ON
Don't you regulate campaign expenditures and advertising, etc.?
1 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
That is all in the legislation. That is not something that I would seek powers to adapt. That belongs to Parliament, in my view.