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.
October 22nd, 2020 / 12:35 p.m.
Liberal
Bob Bratina Liberal Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
Thank you very much.
This is a very interesting and informative session. I really appreciate the information that we're getting.
My origins are Croatian, so I was asked to [Technical difficulty—Editor] with regard to the Croatian elections. The Canadian government at the time did not allow balloting to take place at the Mississauga consulate or the Ottawa embassy. In a few short days, we managed to resolve that, and it seems to me that as we were going through that procedure, it had something to do with provincial regulations. Therefore, the federal government was responding to those and not at first allowing the voting to take place, and then it allowed voting to take place.
It was resolved, but I am still seized with the matter of whether provincial directives can have any impact on how the federal planning takes place. Could you comment on that at all?
12:40 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
I can, certainly more so than on Croatian elections, I have to say.
12:40 p.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
12:40 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
Technically, provincial rules do not bind federal authorities. There are legal exceptions to that, but as a broad principle, that's a fair statement. That is not to say that we cannot choose to abide by the provincial rules. When we're delivering an election, one of the challenges is understanding the various rules in place. I think it's also fair to say that electors would expect to find at any federal polling station or returning office the same kinds of measures that are imposed provincially, based on the local health authorities and the pandemic situation there, which varies, as we know, quite considerably, between areas of the country.
For us, it's critical that we take into account how Canadians in their local circumstances are being directed and that we don't ignore the directions of local authorities. While we may not be technically bound by that, I don't think Canadians would be reassured or would understand why they would have a completely different experience when entering their polling station than they do when going grocery shopping, for example.
12:40 p.m.
Liberal
Bob Bratina Liberal Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
In the same vein, this matter was brought up earlier, but I'd like to address it again. What sort of circulation among ethnic media is done with regard to the Canadian federal election?
12:40 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
I will be happy to provide that information. There's quite a bit of detail on that. We cover I think 18 ethnolinguistic media. However, rather than mislead the committee in details, we'll provide those details subsequent to my appearance.
12:40 p.m.
Liberal
Bob Bratina Liberal Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
I appreciate that. Thank you very much.
The fact is that often within those communities things travel more by word of mouth than by fact. In this case, we were severely criticized as a government for not allowing this vote to take place, when it seemed to be a bureaucratic stumble that was quickly resolved.
I would appreciate hearing back on that and the reassurance that you've just given us that we do take strong measures to see that those communities have the right information.
12:40 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
Yes, I'll get some information back to the committee on that point.
12:40 p.m.
Liberal
Bob Bratina Liberal Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
Those are my questions, Madam Chair, and I'll be pleased to move on.
12:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ruby Sahota
Thank you.
Seeing that about a minute is left, I was wondering if I could get in a quick question.
Earlier you mentioned that Canada Post was fairly efficient with the mail. They're having some issues with packages. I heard on the news today that they are warning people to get their Christmas packages out now, because there are no guarantees.
I see you have a requirement that the mail-in ballots be received by a certain day. Have you thought whether that date of receipt could be changed to a mailing date or a post-dated date, just because you never know down the road if Canada Post's circumstances may change and might not guarantee getting these in within a certain time. I'm just hoping voters would not be disenfranchised because mail is late.
What are your thoughts on that?
12:40 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
As part of my recommendations, we think that the mail should be allowed to come in a day after polling day to provide additional flow for the return envelopes, provided however that the mail has been in the hands of Canada Post before the close of polls. Of course, we don't want people to be voting after the polls have closed and then sending in their ballots.
Assuming we have our recommendations, we would allow extending the receipt of ballots one day after the weekend voting.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ruby Sahota
Correct me if I'm wrong. The polls would close on Sunday and you would receive mail-in ballots up until the Monday. However, what if people had mailed ballots before the close of polls but you didn't receive these by the Monday? Then what happens?
12:45 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
Then those would not count, unless the legislation is relaxed further than is being recommended. You could consider adding some more days. However, at some point we probably do want finality. That's what we have at every election. There are late ballots, and they do not count. We have to draw a line in the sand as to where counting stops. I'm proposing to extend that one day beyond polling day, but of course I'm happy to consider other measures that Parliament will want to propose for that.
12:45 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Madam Chair, I recognize it may be on our agenda to have 15 minutes of committee business, but I'm wondering if our time isn't better spent continuing with the current round of questioning.
I would just put it to the committee that, if it's okay with our witness and the committee, we spend the next 15 minutes continuing with the current round of questioning, instead of releasing our witness and going to committee business.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ruby Sahota
Absolutely. That is fine with me. As long as you have questions, I think it's really important for us to get those answers.
Monsieur Therrien.
12:45 p.m.
Bloc
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Are you able to assess the impact of all this on voter turnout? Do you have specific targets, or will it depend on the pace of the pandemic at election time?
12:45 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
There are too many factors at play for us to predict the turnout rate. I don't have a target or indication at this time. We can assume that there will be a lower participation rate, but that's an assumption.
I don't think that was the case in New Brunswick, where there were a lot more advance polls. I expect the same thing for a federal election. We're going to have to increase services to respond to advance polls to the extent that we can recruit people.
I will be very interested to see what happens in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. This will give us a good indication, perhaps better than the New Brunswick election.
12:45 p.m.
Bloc
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
From what I understand, your biggest challenge is hiring staff. I'll come back to that.
I have one last, very simple question. Suppose Justin Trudeau decides to call an election. He may or may not seek the advice of Health Canada. Either way, if an election is called, you don't have the mandate to oppose it on the grounds that the situation is too serious. You will have to carry out the mandate given to you by the Prime Minister.
Did I understand you correctly?
12:45 p.m.
Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Canada
Yes, absolutely. My role is to organize an election when it is called.
12:45 p.m.
Bloc
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Fine. Let's hope it will go well and that everything will run smoothly, maybe in three years or even before.
I have no further questions. Thank you very much.
