Evidence of meeting #9 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 elections.
A recording is available from Parliament.
1:40 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
Does Elections Canada engage CCD? Does it engage the council, or does it engage each of those 17 organizations?
1:40 p.m.
Past Chairperson, Council of Canadians with Disabilities
I know that a number of my colleagues who are in national organizations have a seat at the advisory committee.
For example, Frank Folino previously was one of the members. He represented the Canadian Association of the Deaf. We also have People First represented. There are a number of individuals there who are not necessarily attached to their organization but who sit at council. It's a pretty diverse group.
1:40 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Would you be willing to table specific recommendations with the committee? You and Ms. Bergeron talked about recommendations you had for Elections Canada. Would you be willing to table with the committee at a later time your recommendations to make elections easier, please?
1:40 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you so much.
Ms. Bergeron, could I ask if Elections Canada consults CNIB directly?
1:40 p.m.
President, CNIB Guide Dogs, Vice-President, International Affairs, CNIB Foundation, Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Yes. I sit on the committee with Elections Canada and I work with my colleagues on various projects for Elections Canada to make sure they're getting the appropriate responses—not just Diane's opinion, but the CNIB's vast knowledge base.
1:40 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Ms. Bergeron, could I ask you the same question? Would you be willing to table with the committee the recommendations that CNIB has made to Elections Canada to make elections easier, please?
1:40 p.m.
President, CNIB Guide Dogs, Vice-President, International Affairs, CNIB Foundation, Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Absolutely.
1:40 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you so much.
Ms. Smith, could you talk about how COVID-19 is impacting Canadians with disabilities who live in group residences, please?
1:40 p.m.
Past Chairperson, Council of Canadians with Disabilities
For sure.
There has been a lot of press about long-term care facilities and our aging population, but many people don't realize how many people with disabilities live in those settings because they don't have appropriate and accessible housing within the community to live independently or with friends or whatever. The disability population is being impacted equally with our aging population. Those who are in those settings are experiencing isolation during the lockdowns that have occurred.
We do know, not necessarily coming out of Canada but from other countries, that people with certain disabilities seem to have higher death rates if they contract COVID-19. People with developmental disabilities seem to be passing away at higher numbers, which is shocking to me personally. I really worry about my friends and colleagues.
We also know that the inability to have family members or other support workers come in is a critical issue that's impacting those who live in these group homes or long-term care settings.
1:45 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Might it be possible to table with the committee the COVID cases that have happened in group residences? You can do so at a later time.
As a last question, do you have recommendations for group residences in terms of elections? With that, I'll say thank you to you both and allow Ms. Smith to answer.
1:45 p.m.
Past Chairperson, Council of Canadians with Disabilities
We know that potentially there are some issues around vouching for people who live in group settings, long-term care homes or other larger settings. I brought it up in my introductory remarks. Sometimes people don't have the identification that is required to vote without vouching. It would really be incredible if the legislation were opened up and that problem could be allowed for, just as currently, if you go to a hospital, there is potential to support more than one person as vouched for by a staff member. That would be really great.
1:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ruby Sahota
Thank you, Ms. Smith.
Monsieur Therrien, you have two and a half minutes, please.
1:45 p.m.
Bloc
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ladies, what I gather from your approach is that we must take advantage of our collective thought in order to make voting easier during a pandemic. So we need to ask ourselves how can we make it easier to vote for individuals like you, who have disabilities, and how we can permanently amend the legislation to encourage them to participate in democratic activities.
Did I understand you correctly?
1:45 p.m.
President, CNIB Guide Dogs, Vice-President, International Affairs, CNIB Foundation, Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Yes, I would agree with that statement. Thank you.
1:45 p.m.
Bloc
Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC
Thank you. I agree with you. Good for you.
I have one last point to address.
Ms. Smith, you talked a lot about the British Columbia model. I will give both of you the rest of my time so that you can explain to me what you like about that model and what needs to be added to it to get closer to perfection.
1:45 p.m.
Past Chairperson, Council of Canadians with Disabilities
I think that Diane mentioned the potential to vote by phone. I think it's a really important option. I have heard from a lot of friends who are blind that they took advantage of that and that it was amazing to vote independently.
As a person with an autoimmune condition, I found the mail-in ballot was really great in providing access. Normally I work during elections, but I wasn't able to because it just wasn't safe for me to do so at this time. I think that the longer number of days for voting was really positive.
I would say there were some things that could be done better in B.C. The website wasn't fully accessible. Elections Canada does have a much more accessible website, so that's good.
Those are the things I would say.
1:45 p.m.
President, CNIB Guide Dogs, Vice-President, International Affairs, CNIB Foundation, Canadian National Institute for the Blind
I would agree with everything that Jewelles has said.
I think the key piece in of all of this, again, is making sure that whatever you're doing, you're talking to individuals with disabilities and testing it out with them to make sure that what's being put in place is actually going to work and is not just a concept.
1:45 p.m.
Past Chairperson, Council of Canadians with Disabilities
I might add that it's not a one-size-fits-all answer for our community. What I require for accessibility is not the same as for Diane, which is not the same as what our colleagues who are deaf might need.
1:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ruby Sahota
Thank you. That was perfect.
Now we have two and a half minutes with Mr. Blaikie.
1:45 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Ms. Smith, I think your comments around vouching are examples of something I asked about earlier. I asked about ways of reducing barriers for people with disabilities that are particularly important in the context of the pandemic that would require legislative changes. Beyond looking at the question of vouching, I want to give you an opportunity, because I ran out of time last time, to speak to some of the things you think are really important to be considered in any changes to the Elections Act vis-à-vis the pandemic.
1:45 p.m.
Past Chairperson, Council of Canadians with Disabilities
I think that having the option to phone in and vote is one crucial change. I know that Diane has specific ones that she's worked on that she could mention. For me, there's the ability to easily do a mail-in or a phone-in option to vote, to have vouching available and to think about accommodations in rural communities for people with disabilities in the timing of elections.
1:50 p.m.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Thank you very much.
Ms. Bergeron, was there anything you wanted to add on that topic that you didn't have a chance to provide in your last answer?
1:50 p.m.
President, CNIB Guide Dogs, Vice-President, International Affairs, CNIB Foundation, Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Again, I would agree with Jewelles. With COVID, anything that allows a person to be able to vote without having to leave the safety and security of their own home is going to be key in the upcoming election, whenever it happens. Again, in taking that perspective and looking at how we need to do things differently now, let's make it right so that the future is going to be more accessible.
The one thing I do want to impress upon people—and we didn't talk about it earlier—is that people who are deaf-blind need to have intervenor services and assistance with that. That's currently not provided by Elections Canada. They do have access to interpreters for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but intervenors are not provided, and that's key.