Procedure and House Affairs Committee on Nov. 12th, 2020

[Jewelles Smith]

I'll jump in. I know that Diane has a few things too.

One thing we've really been pushing hard—and People First is also on the committee and has talked about this—is the ability to have a person vouch for more than one person. That would make a tremendous difference in a general election. In an election during a pandemic, I think it's really critical that we have that possibility.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Thank you very much for that.

Ms. Bergeron, would you comment?

[Diane Bergeron]

Some things have come up at the committee level. For people with sight loss, of course, it's about having those alternate ways of voting—telephone voting or potentially online voting, if there's a safe way to do that—and having other options that use technology and various types of technology so that we can vote independently.

Another thing that came up quite frequently at our committee was to have Braille lists of the names of the individuals on the ballot, but there are people out there who have no ability to read or who have limited literacy skills. There are people with various disabilities and cognitive levels. It's important to potentially have photographs or pictures of the individuals next to their names so that people know who they're voting for.

Those are some ideas that were put forward. Again, to my understanding, what the ballot looks like is all set within legislation. Maybe it would be possible to have a look at that ballot to see how we can make it possible for as many people as possible to be able to read it.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Thank you. Those are really specific suggestions.

To both of you, I appreciated your opening remarks. You had very specific suggestions, which I really appreciate. All of those points are well taken.

Ms. Smith, I want to ask one other question about twin-track communications, which I think you opened up with. I feel it's a really big contribution to this conversation. Can you speak a little bit more about what that might look like in terms of coordinating with some of the accessibility organizations across Canada?

[Jewelles Smith]

Sure. I think it's really important to use multiple ways of reaching out to communities. There's TV and radio. Some of the earlier speakers today talked about using specific modes in the community, so maybe radio is a rural preference.

In terms of reaching out to our organizations, we have very large mail groups to whom we send out weekly notices from CCD. We also have social media to amplify it. If all of our organizations were working closely, we could definitely be doing that outreach. As Diane mentioned, CNIB has the ability to help folks in person. All of those modes are really critical to us. I know that reaching out to the community is important.

I'm not sure if you're aware, but the Council of Canadians with Disabilities is made up of different organizations that are represented at our council. We would amplify it straight out to all of our provincial and territorial affiliates as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Thank you.

Monsieur Therrien, you have six minutes, please.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good afternoon, Ms. Bergeron and Ms. Smith. I am very happy to be with you today.

You are testifying about a reality that we do not know enough about, in my opinion. We tend to not look into it as closely as we should. Before I ask you a lot of questions related to the pandemic, I would like to know the voter turnout rate for people living with a disability. Is it comparable to the rest of the population, or is it lower or higher?

[Diane Bergeron]

I'm not sure who that question was aimed at. I can say that we actually don't know how many people with sight loss in Canada are voting. Since the vote is secret, there is no way for us to be able to have specific statistics on that. Unfortunately, I can't answer that question.

[Jewelles Smith]

I would say that as well. Those statistics are not available to us.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

If I understand correctly, you have not considered doing that analysis by asking the people you represent questions of that kind, in the form of a survey, say, to see whether the democratic process is working well for them? That's okay, I was just wondering.

[Diane Bergeron]

CNIB did an analysis after the last election in regard to the experiences of individuals in their election process, but we did not ask the question on how many.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

So you are studying the process to see whether those you represent had any trouble, what kind of trouble they had, and how you would suggest improving the situation for them. That's commendable.

Did I understand correctly?

[Diane Bergeron]

Yes, that was the purpose of our survey. It was to make sure we knew what the challenges were so that when we're participating in committees such as the Elections Canada committee, and also in presenting here, we would have some information about what those experiences were like and how to potentially improve them.

[Jewelles Smith]

I would just say that the council as well does conversations and outreach whenever we are meeting with the committee to discuss any recent barriers that were experienced or concerns or ideas. We always bring those forward, but we do not have the capacity at this time to run a large survey.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Has anyone actually told you they would refuse to vote during the pandemic because they are too afraid of it?

[Jewelles Smith]

I'll take that one.

As I said, we just had an election in B.C. I didn't hear from anyone that they were too afraid to vote. We have a lot of options in B.C.

People were able to have a mail-in ballot or use the phone. It was more about solutions to vote. That's what I was hearing.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Is your answer the same, Ms. Bergeron?

[Diane Bergeron]

Yes, I haven't heard of anybody specifically who has been concerned about voting in the election due to COVID.

I've heard a lot of concerns about people not wanting to go out and interact in public due to COVID. Guide dogs don't understand physical distancing, and we can't follow the pathways on the ground, so it's been very difficult for people with sight loss to do their daily activities.

As for refusing to vote due to COVID, I can say that I haven't heard anything specifically about that, but I have spoken to some people who are blind and who have said they're not voting until they can vote independently in secret, as every other Canadian has the right to do. There are some folks who are not voting because of the lack of accessibility, but they haven't said that it's specifically around COVID.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

I understand.

You have voted by mail in the past, and you would like to see that option become more widely available? Is that correct?

[Diane Bergeron]

Yes. If the vote-by-mail option were more accessible, I think you would find that there would be a much higher rate. This is just anecdotal and from my opinion. I think you would find that there would be a lot more individuals who would be willing and able to vote, but that process would need to be accessible in order for that to happen.

[Jewelles Smith]

I'm speaking not specifically to the blind community but to disability in general and to people who live in rural and remote places in B.C. I know that the mail-in and the phone-in options for voting were really well appreciated. I've heard that there was quite a bit of participation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Thank you.

Next we have Mr. Blaikie, please, for six minutes.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Thank you very much.

My opening question is similar to Monsieur Therrien's. In light of the barriers that exist to voting and the complications of the pandemic, if those barriers aren't addressed, are you concerned that there could be a significantly lower voter turnout among Canadians living with disabilities?

[Diane Bergeron]

I'm sorry. Were you addressing both of us?

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

I am indeed, yes, and I'm very happy to have you start, Ms. Bergeron.