Thank you, Madam Chair, for inviting me to speak today. I'll try to go quickly through my remarks.
The Assembly of First Nations has worked closely with Elections Canada for a number of years to alleviate barriers to first nations' participation in the electoral system. In the wake of COVID-19, there are a number of new challenges to protecting the safety, rights, jurisdiction and opportunity to participate of first nations. However, many of these challenges are long standing and just exacerbated by the pandemic.
First nations have a long history of disenfranchisement by the federal government, but work is being done in coordination with the AFN to address the issues pertaining to elections. Indeed, first nations' right to vote was not recognized until 1951. This legacy and first nations' understandable mistrust of the colonial systems of governance are barriers to participation.
After a significant increase in first nations' participation in 2015, there was a large drop in the 2019 election. On-reserve registered electors in 2019 turned out at a rate of 53%, which is 14 points lower than the general population and nine points lower than the 2015 on-reserve turnout. This drop must not become a trend. First nations need to be able to participate in the federal electoral system to help shape the COVID-19 recovery. We've borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and should have a leading voice in ensuring the recovery reaches our communities.
Elections Canada and the federal government need to ensure the safety of first nations communities when conducting an election. While I'm sure that considerations for mail-in voting have been made, first nations living in communities with different address systems or unique housing and living arrangements need to be considered when distributing and accepting mail-in ballots. This process needs to be clear and accessible.
As for polling on-reserve, the utmost priority needs to be placed on procuring the necessary supplies for a safe and sanitary voting environment for both staff and electors. First nations have dealt with the issues of procurement due to their remoteness or the cost, and this is a serious concern for us when it comes to a large-scale federal election that may come on short notice.
Preparations and training should be made at the earliest feasible time. A window of 30 or 40 days from writ drop to election day will mean there will be a lot of moving parts, and the COVID pandemic has shown that first nations are often an afterthought.
I want to touch on the importance of respecting first nations' jurisdiction in regard to polling stations on reserve and in outreach for our participation.
The COVID pandemic illustrated once again that there is a disconnect between federal, provincial, municipal and first nations' leadership on who determines safe practices within our communities. It needs to be clearly outlined by the federal government and by Elections Canada that first nations' leadership have the jurisdictional authority to say when something is unsafe or unwelcome in their communities.
In our most recent work with Elections Canada, we published a report with a number of recommendations, and I want to share a couple with you today because they remain relevant. Some of the key recommendations that can be implemented relatively quickly are introducing self-identification options in Elections Canada hiring and application processes to better gauge first nations representation and access to paid employment positions offered by Elections Canada during an election. Another recommendation is ensuring that staff running polling stations are adequately trained on acceptable forms of ID. There was evidence that polling stations staff turned away first nations voters who had adequate ID in 2019. Of course, we can't know if this was an act of individual racism or if it has to do with training. We ask you to ensure that there is access to polling stations on-reserve where requested. In 2019 some first nations were refused polling stations.
When it comes to sharing information among staff about acceptable forms of ID, there must be training for Elections Canada officials on the history of disenfranchisement and the importance of first nations' participation. First nations should be hired to staff polling stations and other vital Elections Canada positions. These are relatively impactful yet easy options to ensure participation.
Ultimately, first nations need to be a part of the federal electoral process, should we choose to engage. First nations have felt the impacts of disenfranchisement and the pandemic deeply. We cannot let COVID-19 exacerbate the issue.
First nations need to be able to have a say in the direction the federal government takes in the COVID-19 recovery effort. That means ensuring our safe participation in the electoral process, ensuring the procurement of supplies for first nation polling stations, implementing AFN recommendations on reducing barriers to the federal electoral process, and doing so while respecting first nation jurisdictional authority will stem the possibility of first nation voices being stifled.
Thank you for allowing our participation today. I look forward to your questions.