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

[Diane Bergeron]

From my perspective, as long as the situation with COVID is in place, you are going to have a significant drop in participation from people with disabilities because of the fear of going out.

In my particular case, I'm thinking of people with sight loss. It's not a fear, I would say, of getting COVID as much as it's a fear of the reaction from the people around you in a social situation, in a community situation. People get upset and angry because your dog can't figure out where the lineup is and which direction you're supposed to walk. With your cane, it's not tactile on the floor and you can't see the signage. It's such a stressful, anxiety-building situation that I expect you will see, for those reasons, a significant drop in voting participation during the next election from people with sight loss alone.

Again, that's just anecdotal and my opinion, but I think there will be a significant reduction unless something's done properly.

[Jewelles Smith]

I would agree as well. If the issues are not addressed, we know that people with disabilities who live in long-term care homes or settings like group homes and such are going to have challenges. Not accommodating people with mobility disabilities might be a problem. Individuals with autoimmune conditions are going to have concerns about going out and voting. As well, ensuring that people with communication disabilities have a support person with them to assist in voting is also a priority.

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

Thank you very much.

One thing that's been discussed through a number of our panels has been the length of the writ period, or how long the election ought to be. I'm wondering if either of you has an opinion on whether we should tend towards a longer or shorter election period, and if you think that would matter to the people you represent in terms of Elections Canada having more or less time to prepare ballots in the appropriate way and having polling stations and things like that.

[Jewelles Smith]

I would strongly suggest, especially during a pandemic, to have a longer writ period. In B.C., we had a very short one. I know it was very difficult for people to get the names of the people running for positions ahead of time and to make decisions about voting and to send in the mail-in ballots in a timely manner. However, they did alleviate that to some extent by extending the number of days we were able to vote, which was good.

Having a longer writ period, if the issues of accessibility were addressed, would definitely help.

[Diane Bergeron]

I agree with Jewelles. The longer the period, the more opportunities people have to prepare for their accommodation needs. I also think it provides Elections Canada with a longer period of time to get accommodations in place and to make sure that the communication is out there to tell people what accommodations are going to be available for their elections experience.

I would say that the longer the period, the easier it's going to be for Elections Canada and for people with disabilities to prepare. I also think that the more time you give during the voting piece.... If you have a three-day or four-day time frame to have people vote, it gives people an option to get different transportation options in place or get the supports they need in place for different times.

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

Thank you very much.

If I understood the earlier conversation correctly, you were saying that there were some suggestions coming out of the disability advisory group for Elections Canada that would require legislative changes, meaning that those changes would be harder to make. I'm wondering in this context if you'd like to share some of those recommendations, given that I think it is very likely that the act will be opened up.

What things are most critical to reducing the worst barriers for people living with disabilities in the event of an election during a pandemic?

We could start with Ms. Bergeron and then go to Ms. Smith.

[Diane Bergeron]

Thank you very much.

As a person who has never, ever, in my entire life in Canada been able to vote independently and in secret, I would really appreciate having the options of telephone voting, online voting or any other option that doesn't require my going into a polling station and having to either take someone with me to confirm my ballot or having to tell some stranger at the polling station helping me.

I know that the folks who are there take an oath. I've said before that an oath is fantastic, but it's only a word. As I mentioned to Elections Canada when we talked about the oath, my husband gave me a vow a long time ago, and he's now my ex-husband, so that tells you—with the divorce rate in Canada—how much an oath means sometimes.

I would really like to see those alternative measures in place, using technology to give us the ability to do it independently. If the legislation is opened up, I would be eternally grateful to feel independent in this process for the first time in my life.

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

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Thank you, Ms. Bergeron.

Next we have Mr. Tochor for five minutes, please.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Thank you so much.

I will give a personal thank you to our witnesses for the work you guys do every day on behalf of your members. The one in five Canadians who are living with disabilities are, I'm sure, very appreciative of your hard work to make sure that people with disabilities can live normal lives as much as possible, just like every other Canadian.

My questions are a little about what would be ideal. We talked about the writ period and how the longer the period, probably the better possibilities would be. We have the example in B.C., where I believe the witness said it was a little too short and that it challenged people with disabilities. Another aspect is that we live in Canada. I'm very envious of Diane out in B.C., I believe. I'm in Saskatchewan right now, with a couple of feet of snow in my driveway. I think everyone knows the answer to this question, but I'd like to hear you guys talk about the perfect timing for an election for someone who has a disability. Is it in the middle of winter or in the middle of summer? What does that change for the members you represent?

[Diane Bergeron]

Thank you.

Jewelles lives in B.C. I'm also very envious because at the moment I'm in Edmonton. We have snow and cold.

For people I know with sight loss and other disabilities, winter is a challenge. If things are not shovelled, it's very difficult to use the tactile indicators you have on the ground to get around. Your sound is muffled because you have a hat and earmuffs and stuff on. Any time there's no snow on the ground is the best.

[Jewelles Smith]

I would echo that. Yes, I am in the beautiful coastal part of B.C., but I know that back home in Revelstoke there's snow.

I would agree that times when there is not as much snow are very important, because then there is much more accessibility for people who have disabilities. Also, people who are living in rural and remote communities are better accommodated in the better seasons. I'm not sure that the height of summer would be so great, because kids are off school and people have vacations and so on. There are plenty of months in the year when snow and ice are not such issues.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

I've heard there are issues with transportation, obviously, on weekends versus a weekday. If you had your choice, would you hold an election on the traditional Monday or in the Saturday-Sunday period?

[Diane Bergeron]

It would be Sunday-Monday, because that would give the opportunity for people who need to get friends or family members to help them. Sunday's probably the day they'd be off work, and on Monday the transportation comes back. Otherwise, ti could be Friday-Saturday if Sunday's an issue. It could be one weekend day and one weekday day for the public transportation and the availability of other people to help.

[Jewelles Smith]

I would echo those days.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Okay.

I'll tell a little story. Back in 2011, I ran provincially. On election day, I was going to drop off lunches for my scrutineers at the assisted voting location. It was a place for people who had mobility issues or other disabilities, issues that needed additional assistance.

It was the only time in an election that I was actually scared that I would be unsuccessful. As my wife and I were walking in, there was an individual in a wheelchair who was being helped. The worker didn't recognize me or my wife, but we were walking behind them. The worker was helping this resident to vote and, with last instructions, said, “Remember Tommy Douglas—remember.” It was a sinking feeling that there was undue influence on people in a voting station that potentially could impact the election. Now, take that example, and with an individual who doesn't just have mobility issues but has additional disabilities, that can really affect how things go.

I do share your concerns or your desire to make sure that everyone who wants to vote can vote. You've talked about how in the past you had to verbalize or share your vote with the worker. We had elections in New Brunswick, which didn't have as many COVID precautions or concerns as were going through B.C. Our country is so vast that there are a lot of different examples. We may need something different here versus in another province, or vice versa.

I'd like to hear a bit about the idea for a voting station that would be dedicated to people with sight issues. I guess that question would be for—

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Mr. Tochor, I let you go over by a minute just so you could get your question out, but it was a long question.

[Corey Tochor, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

I had 1:41 as my cutoff, but okay. I digress.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

I just wanted to throw you a minute there, because I know you wanted to have some time that you were expecting before.

Go ahead, Ms. Duncan, please, for five minutes.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Thank you so much, Madam Chair.

I'd like to thank you, Ms. Smith and Ms. Bergeron, for being with us and being so generous in bringing us your tremendous experience and expertise.

Ms. Smith, could you tell us how many organizations you represent in CCD, please?

[Jewelles Smith]

Sure. Oh, my service dog is getting a little noisy right now.

We have 17 organizations that have council seats. We have two at-large seats that are for other members from across the country. We also will be having three more seats, which we've just approved.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Thank you. Could you table with the committee the names of those organizations? Would that be possible?

[Jewelles Smith]

Oh, you're really testing me.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

No, no. Could you do it at another time?

[Jewelles Smith]

Oh, at another time. Okay. Yes, of course I can.