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

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

Do you believe, then, that there is a role for the federal government, even if it is just contacting Elections Canada to remind them of that jurisdictional authority and to encourage them to respect it?

[Amber Potts]

Absolutely, and I hope this committee's report will help buttress our recommendations around jurisdiction to Elections Canada and support their staff in delivering an election that respects first nations' rights.

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

Thank you.

For first nations that may well be interested in establishing polling stations in their own communities, are you aware right now if there is any dedicated contact person they can reach out to at Elections Canada to begin some of that groundwork now, or is that something that only begins once an election is called?

[Amber Potts]

I understand that Elections Canada has changed the role of what I believe are called ROs, but generally the outreach is only available once an election is called. We had challenges in the last election in making sure that first nations and Elections Canada staff and those regional outreach officers were connected to coordinate polling stations in first nations communities.

My comment earlier around making sure information is available clearly relates to making sure that those staff members or contact persons are available as early as possible for first nations to reach out to, to discuss setting up a polling station and making sure the necessary supports for PPE are in place.

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

Would you say that should also include training for local people, if there are people living on reserve who are interested in being poll clerks or occupying some of those positions? Would it be useful to have Elections Canada make some of those resources available outside of an election period so that there are some people on the ground who are ready to do those jobs from within the community?

[Amber Potts]

Absolutely. As I said in my remarks, a 40-day or 50-day period is not enough time to do the recruitment and training needed to deliver service for voters adequately.

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

What advice would you have for political actors, whether political parties or individual candidates, who are interested in campaigning in first nations communities, who obviously are not going to be able to do it in the traditional way because they're not going to be able to campaign anywhere in the traditional way? What advice would you have for political actors who want to reach out to first nations voters during the pandemic in terms of things they should bear in mind? How do we go about that in a good way?

[Amber Potts]

I think it's by respecting first nations' authority to determine who comes in their territory. I would recommend that Elections Canada staff and political actors contact first nations administrators directly to ask how they want to engage with the political actors.

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

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ruby Sahota]

Thank you.

Ms. Gladu, you have five minutes.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Potts. You're providing excellent input.

I noted the issue about the mail-in ballots, with not having an actual address in some cases for people to use. Do you think having a polling station on reserve would address that situation for those individuals, or is it still too far for them to travel?

[Amber Potts]

In some cases, I think mail-in voting and making sure it is accessible is really important for the next election if it occurs during the pandemic.

As for polling stations on reserve, sometimes people have to travel too far to vote in person.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

It may not address all of them, then.

[Amber Potts]

Yes.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

One of the things that's really going to be important if an election is called in a pandemic is to make sure we have protection for the people who are voting and the people who are working in the polling stations, etc. I'm concerned that a government that can't even provide safe drinking water on reserve.... I'm not sure if proper support has been given for PPE, sanitizers and everything that will be needed. Do you feel you've had adequate support to be able to go forward in an election, or do you have concerns?

[Amber Potts]

As I stated in my remarks, it's absolutely essential that first nations be provided with the PPE needed to support in-person voting. I don't think first nations have those supports on hand right now. We do have obvious concerns about PPE and the impact of the pandemic on first nations. We know that the first nations have been impacted disproportionately.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

One of the things I noted is that the turnout was lower. What do you think we ought to incorporate to make sure the turnout is as high as it can possibly be?

[Amber Potts]

Voter turnout is a complex issue that has many factors. There's political motivation. There's the timing, and I mentioned moose hunting. The fixed election date does not take into consideration first nations' priorities. Making sure there are polling stations on first nations reserves when that's requested is essential as well. Providing training—and this is a very simple recommendation—to Elections Canada staff to make sure we're not perpetuating systemic racism in institutions and that we're ensuring first nations can participate in the federal electoral process, should they choose to do so, is essential. It's about making it a process that works for them.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Could you elaborate? You mentioned that you want to make sure the people working on the polling stations don't do unwelcome things. Could you give some examples of things that have been done that would not be welcome?

[Amber Potts]

I don't remember using the word “unwelcome”.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

I think it had to do with people not understanding things that are not consistent with first nations culture. It's possible I misunderstood.

[Amber Potts]

Yes. I'm sorry that my remarks were not clear.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

No problem.

What about if there were a polling station on the reserve? My idea is that throughout the whole writ period, you could always show up and vote by special ballot. Do you think this might encourage a better turnout from indigenous people?

[Amber Potts]

Perhaps. I think that providing as many options as possible for first nations to participate in the federal electoral process is important.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Good.

I think that's my time. Thank you, Chair.